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Underdeveloped
By Matt Samet
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Allah be praised for the streamlined, simple climbing film it's a welcome relief. Showcasing the principal Irish cragging areas of the Mourne Mountains, the seacliffs of the Burren and Fairhead, and the boulders of Glendalough, the spirited Underdeveloped (£17.99, underdevelopedireland.com ) is, in the words of the filmmakers, "...simply a story of a bunch of friends from Belfast who went climbing. ..." And that's about it, really, except these Belfast boys like to climb E6 to E8 hairy-scary trad/headpoint in a country where climbers are few, rocks are wild, and bolts are anathema. That makes for heart-pounding footage culminating in Ricky Bell's masterful lead of the 60-meter The Complete Scream (E8 6c), at Fairhead. (Running it out above two taped-on skyhooks and a sling draped over a marginal knob, Bell moves resolutely through vertical 5.12 up the Irish Indian Face. ) Other high notes include a swinging bridge jump, a 25-foot "bouldering" fall off an E7 slab, and a rochambo-fueled salto mortale into the jellyfish-infested sea from the limestone scarp of the Burren. Don't, however, expect cameras on booms and slick production values the friends simply filmed each other over two years, and then edited the footage. Still, with great, offbeat music and a glimpse of the underappreciated riches on this rain-swept isle, Underdeveloped delivers.
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