Underdeveloped

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.