127 Hours

Can you think of anything you could do for 127 hours, straight? I am sure the last thing most people would say is fight for their life for over five days. Well that is exactly what mountain climber Aron Ralston did when he found himself between a rock and a hard place, in a situation most people can’t even fathom. His arm trapped between a bolder in 2003 in Utah, at Robbers Roost, and his arm might have been robbed, but his spirit was anything but.

A powerful story, no doubt. But to make a movie out if, surely was challenging. The plot basically takes place in one spot, with one guy, for five days. And the story is so well publicized, the end is a spoiler, and it’s pretty well known that Ralston survives by amputating his own arm. But that didn’t keep director Danny Boyle from making a powerful story into an equally powerful movie.

James Franco stars as Aron Ralston and through the movie you are taken on an uplifting journey. Seeing through his flashbacks and hallucinations you start to get a sense of who Aron Ralston is. You see someone loveable, who is simply fascinated by the outdoors. He never looses his hope, or really his temper, and looks at the situation with a clear mind. Of course that all starts to loosen a bit as his situation worsens, water empties and the dehydration kicks in. But you are never left feeling let down in the movie, or even hopeless.

Such limits to work with, but the positive vibes from the movie are limitless. A movie that gracefully takes one of the most horrific situations and turns into something uplifting. I believe there is something great to be said about that.