Movie Substrate · Film

Free Solo (2018)

★ 7.9 · 1,506 ratings on TMDB

Live beyond fear.

Free Solo poster★ 7.9

Follow Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's 3,000 foot high El Capitan wall. With no ropes or safety gear, this would arguably be the greatest feat in rock climbing history.

DirectorElizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin
CastAlex Honnold, Cheyne Lempe, Jimmy Chin, Mark Synnott, Mikey Schaefer, Sanni McCandless
GenresAdventure, Documentary
The emergence reading

Free Solo keeps every mind human — it fights its subject at zero distance. The story fights on E8/E11 of the E0–E14 reality ladder, compressing power, crime, rebellion, authority, identity.

zero-distanceUSpowercrimerebellionauthorityidentity
Also inFilms about identity
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Same rung, same subject

Films fighting at the same level of reality, about the same things.

Abigail (2019)E8/E11 · authority, identityThor: Ragnarok (2017)E8 · authority, identityX-Men (2000)E11 · authority, identityThe Monkey King (2023)E8 · authority, identityIn the Lost Lands (2025)E11 · authority, identityStar Wars (1977)E8/E11 · authority, power

Same subject, different rung

The same preoccupations examined at another scale — one mind versus a nation.

Wolfwalkers (2020)E7/E9/E10 · rare rung · identity, powerThe Odyssey (2026)E6/E9/E10 · rare rung · authority, identityDogma (1999)E9/E10/E14 · rare rung · authority, powerDamsel (2024)E6/E9/E10 · rare rung · authority, powerReturn to Oz (1985)E10/E13 · rare rung · authority, identityWarcraft (2016)E12/E13 · rare rung · authority, power

Same people

Shared director or cast.

NYAD (2023)dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi