For appreciators of those old Warren Miller skiing films, and frankly, every other soul on the planet, La Liste: Everything or Nothing is must-see cinema.
Director Eric Crosland has somehow managed to capture something on film whose scope is simultaneously more grandiose than anything you’ve ever seen and as intimate of a portrayal of souls who risk it all because of the love of the sport. That, and the whole travel the world, be exposed to a myriad of cultures and ski down mountains that have been deemed “un-skiable” by some pretty well-versed souls in this arena.
Crosland has a gift of tale-telling. His is a story of an individual who was born to do what they are doing. That permeates on every frame of La Liste: Everything or Nothing. He smartly broke down his film into those two parts: The skiing of the most breathtaking and heart-stopping sites and the people who would even consider doing such a thing. Well, really, it’s two people specifically here—Jérémie Heitz and Sam Anthamatten.
It’s 2016 and free-skier Heitz took it upon himself to make a list of the most legendary peaks in The Alps. Then, He and Anthamatten would ski them. Crosland would capture it all.
First of all, the footage is jaw-droppingly stunning. There’s a magnificence to what Heitz and Anthamatten do that matches the sensationally spectacular footage. Second, as most documentarians must be prepared for, the story that was sought to be told alters a bit and the way that Anthamatten, Heitz, and Crosland persevered is inspiring. Actually, if inspiring was on the ground floor, then Crosland’s film would be on the 100th floor.
Through the quieter moments that define a person (and a documentary for that matter), Crosland has produced an emotive tether between audience and subjects. If that is priceless in narrative filmmaking, it is imperative in the world of the documentary.
La Liste: Everything or Nothing is not simply a masterpiece of sports filmmaking, but it also is part of the record books! Heitz and Anthamatten, and Crosland, are record holders for freeskiing and filming at over 6,000 meters above sea level.
As much planning went into the Red Bull Studios skiing elements for our skiing masterminds, also went into how one captures what the athletes are accomplishing on film. Whether it for safety (as much as that can be planned when dealing with peaks where they would meet the ground at a 90-degree angle. It’s not necessarily skiing at that point. It’s surviving.
The epic international traverse takes our skiers and filmmaking team from the Karakoram in Pakistan to the Andes mountain range in Peru.
The film drops on VOD and Apple+ on February 15. That reminds me… Crosland does something that is extraordinary (more than we’ve already mentioned!) and that’s that one doesn’t lose one thing witnessing the flick on a smaller screen like a television or even a laptop. Also, with people’s home theater set-ups nowadays, you will still feel as if you’re “in” this world of living legends. One can almost taste the fresh powder.
If Crosland—co-founder of Sherpas Cinema (great moniker!)—wants to, after seeing his film, the world is his oyster. He could go anywhere and film anything and if subjects are curious about what kind of film documentarian he is, all they have to do is watch La Liste: Everything or Nothing. It truly shows there is nothing this filmmaker and expert storyteller cannot capture on film and bring to blazing life for audiences the globe over.
Grade: A