Respond to these rapid questions in our Torn quiz and we will tell you which Torn character you are. Play it now.
In recent years, many of the most powerful documentaries have been produced by young filmmakers who are attempting to confront troubling issues within their own families that have been long hidden beneath the surface of society. This year’s “Minding the Gap,” directed by Bing Liu, set the bar high for these intensely personal films, which is unquestionably one of the greatest films of the twenty-first century. When Liu is asking his mother difficult questions about decisions she has made that have put his life in danger, he sits next to his camera, making sure that a lens is also placed on his face during the interview. In contrast to reality-show manipulation, this is a method for the filmmaker to hold himself accountable, making his vulnerability as palpable as that of the subject so that we can sense the complexities of his own perspective as we watch the movie. We can clearly see the emotional obstacles that are registering on his face and preventing him from moving forward toward forgiveness. Almost as if the camera is turned on us, these scenes force us to relinquish our roles as passive observers by acknowledging the ways in which we have shaped our own family narratives, and how these narratives may have prevented us from absorbing the full scope of their truth.
After his untimely death, the absence of a paternal figure in the lives of those he left behind has been the subject of two of the best nonfiction works published in the year 2021. With courage, Ry Russo-Young sought to understand the mind of her mother’s sperm donor, Tom, in her three-part HBO miniseries, “Nuclear Family,” in which she attempted to untangle the complicated feelings that had prevented her from progressing in her relationship with him as a result of the custody battle he had fought for their children. Now comes the equally piercing and viscerally emotional film “Torn,” directed by Max Lowe, whose father Alex was a celebrated mountain climber who was renowned for his skill as a “risk controller.” “Torn” is a first-time feature film for Lowe, who is also a first-time feature director. Instead of a fall, Alex’s death was brought about by an avalanche that occurred while he was scaling Shishapangma, the world’s fourteenth highest mountain, on October 5, 1999, in Tibet. After searching for hours but failing to locate the bodies of Alex and his cameraman David Bridges, the late icon’s closest friend and climbing partner, Conrad Anker, was left to stumble back to their tent in a daze.
In their ability to chip away at the larger-than-life labels placed on these men—in Tom’s case, a villain, and in Alex’s case, Superman—”Nuclear Family” and “Torn” achieve one of their greatest achievements. Jennifer, Alex’s widow, admits that she was drawn to his characteristics that were reminiscent of a “wild animal,” refusing to question her feelings for him in the same way that he never faltered in his pursuit of adventure, choosing to spend Christmas in the wilderness of Antarctica rather than at home with his family. Alex and Jenni were married for five years when he died in a plane crash in Antarctica. It was with this same instinctual sense of direction that Jenni found herself falling for Conrad three months after Alex’s death, a man who had once been the object of Alex’s envy because of his lack of familial responsibilities at the time of his death. Conrad had taken on the guilt that Alex had felt about neglecting the needs of his sons, and he had become consumed by the apparent unfairness of his survival, and he was determined to be the father that his friend had not been able to be in real life. This all started with Alex’s dream of taking his children to Disneyland, and the footage Conrad captured of little Max squealing blissfully on a rollercoaster is just one of the many instances in which “Torn” brought tears to my eyes.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Torn quiz.
As one might expect given the nature of the film’s subject matter and the fact that National Geographic is distributing it, the landscapes are breathtaking, and they are. However, the most unforgettable sights witnessed here are the expressions that materialize on the faces of Max and his family members as they begin to achieve a hard-earned sense of peace and catharsis that has taken them more than a decade to achieve. When it comes to portraying Conrad as his biological father, Max is meticulous in his portrayal of his inability to accept Conrad as his father, having been attached to Alex much more than his younger siblings, Sam and Isaac, who have no resonant memory of their biological father aside from what they knew of his accomplishments. When Isaac directly inquires of Max as to why he would want to make a film about aspects of their lives that they haven’t yet dealt with adequately, Isaac’s words prompted me to consider how the lens of a camera allows us to confront the very things from which we would otherwise turn our backs. Much about Alex and his motivations remain a mystery, even to his immediate family, but one has to wonder whether the constant presence of a camera provided him with some measure of security when venturing into the unknown.
Torn Quiz
The final sound we hear in “Torn” is an exhalation of breath, which requires no additional words to convey its meaning. When Logan Schneider and Chris Murphy film their subjects’ interactions, we never have the impression that a meaningful word or glance is staged for dramatic effect. The implicit trust that appears to have been established between the subjects and the crew allows us to get as close as possible to their personal journey, and it is to Max’s credit that nothing interferes with it. Occasionally, the score by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans builds in intensity, but never to the point where it overpowers the emotional truth contained within the footage. Furthermore, it understands when to maintain the sacred silence of moments when we are able to feel the weight of the family’s loss. I could write a lot about what happens in the film’s final half-hour, but I’d rather you watch it and find out for yourself what happens. What I will say is that “Torn” brings tears to my eyes in a way that is raw, unexpected, and completely deserved. The filmmaker Max Lowe has scaled the Mount Everest of the soul by inviting viewers to share in the most private of his family’s transformative periods, giving them a cinematic gift that cuts to the heart in ways that few films have ever done before.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Torn quiz.
Select theaters are now showing the film.
For more personality quizzes check this: See For Me Quiz.
