American Direct

Synopsis

It is 1966. The French Alpine resort of Chamonix.

Gary Hemming, adventurer, poet, bum, defies the authorities and the elements in an heroic alpine rescue. His audacious rescue bid plucks his stranded fellow mountaineers from the precipitous West Face of the Dru ahead of the unwieldy efforts of the official rescuers. Lionized by Europe's media, the ensuing fame casts him as an iconic hero: "Le Beatnik" but glory can't save him from his own despair.