180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless (2010)

No film could make you feel more lazy, sitting at your computer perusing Netflix, than the simple and captivating 180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless. The film begins with the story of two men whose brands are familiar to most: Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia and Douglas Tompkins of The North Face. Jeff Johnson, the film’s narrator, introduces the story of the pair’s trip south to Patagonia on the Southern tip of Chile from Venture, CA in 1972 and the inspiration it bred for the eventual founding of two companies deeply lodged in the collective consciousness of all things outdoor. Thus, Jeff begins his own odyssey South and boards a catamaran in Seattle traveling down the Pacific coast of the Americas. A pair of outdoorsmen, Keith Malloy and Timmy O’Neill, accompanies Jeff on his trip, along with a native Easter Islander met during a brief stop off.

The documentary is an idyllic exposure to a part of the world seen by few. Jeff’s journey is so simple and ambitious that it creates a sense of accessibility that would otherwise seem impossible to achieve in a trip as daring as his. Chouinard and Tompkins shine as individuals dedicated to their cause of conservation in the most practical way possible. And to strengthen an already immaculate film, Isaac Brock (lead singer of Modest Mouse and Ugly Cassanova) crafts a timeless soundtrack, an achievement akin to Eddie Vedder’s Into the Wild. The film is an escape, hopefully one that will lead you to your own outside the confines of a laptop screen.