A man climbs barefoot into the void while Bach plays. No ropes. No fear. Pure cinema.
Vertical Opera is a documentary film directed by Jean-Paul Janssen, with climbers Patrick Edlinger and Jean-Paul Lemercier in the Gorges du Verdon. The film opens with a training sequence of Patrick Edlinger then he links the routes with Jean-Paul Lemercier "L'Ange en décongelation" (7a), in which he falls voluntarily to demonstrate the usefulness of the rope, then "Le Septième Saut" (7b+). Finally, the final scene, an anthology, consists of a close-up of Edlinger who climbs free solo and barefoot the route "Débiloff", still in the Verdon, above hundreds of meters of void, all to lyrical music. It is "Wie Furchtsam Wankten Meine Schritte", the aria for alto voice from Johann Sebastian Bach's cantata BWV 33, music not unrelated to the subject of the documentary: "How faltering and fearful my steps were".
Cinematography
Vertigo-inducing close-ups that make your palms sweat
Sound
Bach's aria transforms terror into something sacred
Practical Effects
Every fall, every move is real — no safety net in the final scene
Director
Jean-Paul Janssen
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Edlinger became the face of 1980s sport climbing, his barefoot solos influencing a generation to see verticality as dance.
The final shot's duration — nearly four minutes of silent, shoeless ascent — was reportedly captured in a single 400-foot magazine of 16mm film. No second take possible.
FR
