Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, who won the Academy Award for best documentary for their 2018 film “Free Solo,” have a new film available to stream this week.
“Wild Life,” which premiered on the National Geographic channel Thursday and streams on Disney+ and Hulu today, follows the journey of former Patagonia CEO and conservationist Kris Tompkins as she works to fulfill the dream project she began with her late husband Doug Tomkins, the founder of The North Face and Esprit. The outdoor lifestyle entrepreneurs left the business world behind to undertake a decadeslong effort to create national parks in Chile and Argentina, in the largest private land donation in history.
“Wild Life” is a contemplative film that packs in the life and love story of Kris and Doug, and follows Kris as she moves through grief in order to bring their project to fruition. It’s a moving story of one woman’s life and mission to do what she can in order to preserve this special part of the world, as well as an illuminating portrait of the evolution of the outdoor lifestyle in the 1970s and ’80s.
“Wild Life” is the fourth film co-directed by filmmaker, photographer and mountain climber Chin (who also appears in many of his films) and his collaborator and wife, Vasarhelyi. Their work focuses primarily on mountaineering, climbing and other outdoor adventure topics, with themes of personal perseverance and ecological conservation running throughout. “Wild Life” is a more personal portrait, but it’s very much in line with the rest of their work, which is also available to stream.
