Mount Kilimanjaro: standing nearly twenty-thousand feet high, it is the tallest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. The horrifying mountain has drawn people from around the world for years, and as they attempt to climb to the mountain’s highest summit, their mental and physical health is tested like never before. Kili Big is a documentary that follows a group of plus-sized women as they work together and try to, like many before them, climb one of the largest mountains in the world. Their tenacity is charming, and their refusal to let their aesthetic stop them is unparalleled. Can they make it to the top, or will another group fall victim to the harrowing terrain of Mount Kilimanjaro?
First things first, the term “plus-size” is one that has made its way more and more into the mainstream recently. However, it’s often used to describe women, while men are still regularly victims of the word “fat.” On the flip side there are groups that accept the term “fat” for men, but if it were used as an adjective for a woman, it would be considered offensive or incorrect. Overall, there is this juxtaposition between “fat” and “plus-size” that exists nowadays, and no matter how you slice it or dice it, it has come to cause scrutiny for individuals both male and female. Starting Kili Big quickly reminded me of these terms, as both are used often–but the one that is most prominent throughout the film is “fat.” It’s rarely used in a derogatory sense, and it ultimately becomes nothing more than a descriptor, nothing more than a term that exists in the lives of everyone involved in the Kilimanjaro trek. Regardless of anything else you might think about Kili Big, it levels the playing field for these terms and for anyone that may be associated with them. It’s a bold move for this film to take such a stance, but it pays dividends–and it made me fall in love with the film at an incredibly early point.
One might view Kili Big as taking a political stance as a result of its willingness to attack the stigma that surrounds those aforementioned terms–but it avoids truly taking a polarizing stance, one that would divide. It’s difficult to draw the line between being too political and being just political enough, but everyone involved in creating Kili Big understands how to create this balance, never stepping too far, and inviting just enough of an audience to appreciate all that’s being done in this film.
The most impressive aspect of Kili Big is the group of women who will themselves to accomplish incredible feats. It’s not their ability to overcome massive physical obstacles that is appealing, however, it’s their willingness to look themselves in the mirror and accept who and what they are, be entirely unapologetic in their approach to life, and understand their strengths and their limits. From the opening moments of the documentary, the group of women in question refuse to adhere to the standards set in place for them by society, and their ability to see themselves for what they are capable of is admirable. But even better, understanding the flip side of the coin, knowing how much is too much is even more impressive.
With all of the praise that I’ve given Kili Big, I have one issue–the length. I understand that Director Ida Joglar wants to get as in-depth as possible, and she wants to cover as much of each and every individual present as she can–but I’m not sure that the film needs to be more than an hour-and-a-half in length. An hour or less would have done the trick, it would have allowed the subjects to come to life, and it would have allowed the world to see them in all of their glory. Kili Big takes a bit too long, and it loses its luster over time.
Kili Big takes viewers on the journey of a lifetime–to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro through the eyes of a bunch of fat women. Their ability to truly understand themselves, to appreciate themselves for who and what they are, and to overcome a series of seemingly unfathomable obstacles is enlightening and entertaining. Everything but the length of the film hits the mark, and Kili Big does a wonderful job of engulfing viewers in a world of passion and vision, showing them a path to happiness that they’ve likely never seen before.
Kili Big will stream exclusively for free on Chicken Soup For The Soul starting August 18th and will be available on Crackle.comon October 1st.
Directed by Ida Joglar.
Starring Alyson Avery, Andrea DiMaio, Autumn Stoflet, Bisa Myles, Bonnie Crawford, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
