Film Review – Into the Mind

Saturday night was the world premiere of the new Sherpas Cinema film, Into the Mind. Definitely one of the most anticipated ski films in recent years, Into the Mind is the Sherpas follow-up to the award winning film All.I.Can. And this new film was a cinematic masterpiece. But despite its outstanding editing and epic cinematography, in some ways the film fell a little short.

Into the Mind is a cerebral, almost spiritual journey through the minds of the athletes and film makers that spend their lives in the throes of mountain obsession. The film is a journey of success, failure and the perception of risk in an environment that too often can cost people their lives engaging in the pursuits they love. The visuals in the film are off the hook, and the story of the unnamed athlete struggling with a journey of despair and hope in recovering from what the mountains can cost you is something a lot of us that live and work in the mountains can relate to. Some of the athlete segments, especially by Callum Petit, Eric Hjorleifson and Kye Petersen were terrifying and beautiful all at once.

The All.I.Can. teaser…another great film from the Sherpas’ Crew.

The editing and cinematography in the film were amazing and a testament to the talent and dedication of the Sherpas crew, many of whom can rip themselves. Two years in the making, it was evident Into the Mind was a journey for all involved. The film makers showed it to be a labour of love and the athletes gave their blood and sweat and even the fans got swept away in what was truly an epic film. But as a ski film, there was something missing.

My favourite segment from All.I.Can.

There wasn’t enough skiing. At times it felt like we were watching a hundred and twenty minute long trailer. What skiing there was, was awesome. From gnarly, super technical lines to JP Auclair’s urban ski sequence to shots of just skiing deep, fluffy, throat choking snow, the ski scenes were great. There just weren’t enough of them.

In terms of art, Into the Mind was a statement, but it lacked a bit of flow in telling its story. It’s a ski movie, after all, and the fans are all for being creative, but in being creative, they don’t want to get lost in the shuffle. Obscurity in a ski film skirts the line of being ignorant of why we were all sitting there last night: we came to watch a ski movie and get inspired for the coming season.

Did the film make me want to go out and shred? Yes, it did. It brought on my stoke for trying new lines and spending more time in the backcountry. More importantly, it made a point about risk and what we chance losing when faced with our love of the mountains. But it also lost my attention a few times and had me wondering why there wasn’t more skiing or even a little light hearted humour. It’s evident, after seeing this film, that the modern ski movie is changing and continues to evolve. The Sherpas crew are not averse to taking risks and have shown again that they exist on the cutting edge of what skiing, and even mountain culture, are all about. All in all, it’s worth watching and if you missed the premiere, check out the Sherpas website and get a copy.

Be safe, ski hard.