North Face

"One has lived if one has loved." Luise

In 1936, Nazi Germany was eager to propagandize the race for "the last remaining problem in the Alps," scaling the face of the treacherous Eiger. Enter into the race dutiful Germans Toni (Benno Furmann) and Andi (Florian Lukas); the race is on with two Austrians as competitors in a climbing romance called North Face. Touching the Void (2004) was more harrowing and less boy-girl romantic, but this emphasis on non-climbing romance I can love or hate depending on how demanding I am at the moment about the purity of the climb.

The political subtext is apparent—as Germany is about to annex Austria and the Olympics are imminent, a win on the Eiger would be good for the Nazis. Much as this is a suspenseful adventure of love for climbing, based on a true story, it is also a love story, connecting climber Toni and Luise (Johanna Wolkolek), a photographer and childhood friend of both mountaineers. It is she who watches the adventurers throughout the suspenseful climb and return, kissing Toni only once.

That minimalism pervades the film as no kiss goes any further and no rappel is overly dramatized—they are what they are set against the majestic Alps and the cruel Swiss massif. (That the Eiger "ogre" waits to devour anyone who tries the North Face may be fanciful; nonetheless what happens to the best of climbers would give even the sternest skeptic reason to pause about that legend). The editing is first-rate: Never for a moment did I think it is a movie made not on location and with actors because the shots are believable and wild.

Parallel cutting to the comfortable lodge with waiting reporters, dignitaries, and telescope gawkers serves as a convenient counterpoint to the harrowing climb. At times, I wanted to throttle the insouciant ones who seemed oblivious to the life and death struggle on the mountain.

The most beautiful day I ever spent hiking was down the Jungfrau with the Eiger seemingly all around. My Facebook portrait is of me standing at a crest with that most dangerous Alpine rock face as background. I loved that day, that mountain, and this film.

It's 1936. The Eiger North Face is last unconquered challenge in the Alps. The Nazi propaganda machine wants it defeated by German climbers before the upcoming Olympics. Luise Fellner is a secretary working in a Berlin newspaper. She tells her bosses that she knows men who could do the climb. She, Andi Hinterstoisser and Toni Kurz are childhood friends. Hinterstoisser is eager to try anything. Kurz is more level-headed and refuses to do the climb. Luise goes along with her boss Henry Arau anyways to cover two Austrians making the ascend. Kurz relents and the two friends make the attempt.

The relationship between Hinterstoisser and Kurz is great. The cynical sexist reporters are great. The romantic element isn't quite as compelling. I almost wish that part gets less attention after the climb starts although it's compelling to see the juxtaposition between the comfortable resort and the harsh climb. The climb up is harrowing. It treats mountain climbing seriously where rock falls causes real injuries. This doesn't feel fake except for the girlfriend.

The reaction this film got at the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) in Pusan, South Korea, was better than any of the other big movies there.

This movie gets a 10 out of 10 from me. It is a harsh story about Germany in the 30s as the Nazis were rising and wishing to prove to the world that they were the best. The tale is about two German men who take on a very difficult climb. The story is quite riveting, and human. Full of laughs, tragedy, and ... a little bit of a love story.

Although the movie starts a little slowly, it really picks up about one third the way in. The main characters (the two mountain climbers and the one female love interest) are all solid actors, well directed, and well casted. The director did a great job at capturing the climb. Everything was so convincingly shot, it makes you wonder if they actually filmed some of it on a real mountain. I suppose they must have used CGI, but it was used so sparingly and realistically that it must be commended. The contrast between the plight of the mountain climbers and that of the rich bystanders makes the movie so much more emotionally riveting. Some people in the audience cried.

This is a tragedy that must be seen. It captures humanity at its best and worst... and shows us that sometimes nature rules our lives, and that it is not forgiving.

Overall, I felt this movie was a small masterpiece. One that will probably not be seen by many. But for those who do, you will get a very special treat...

It was especially amazing to know that you, as the viewer, had more than a telescope to watch this climb with... unlike the bystanders in the movie, we were able to see more than just the ascent and the final moment. We saw the part that mattered the most: the climb.

10/10.. Solid

The cinematography here is brilliant. The film does a wonderful job in portraying the close-up atmosphere that's possible and lethal in some of these violent outdoor places. I think it's easily one of the best climbing-themed films out for this reason. Go and see the movie for breathtaking scenes.

I think it was let down (not much) by the way the climbing theme was tied to the sub-plots. A third of the film has no mountains in it at all, which is fine, but as long as it was going to branch into another kind of film, I think I would have enjoyed more character development. The Nazi theme is brushed over as background politics, with little attempt to show disturbing things were brewing. We barely learn anything about the attitudes of the people involved in the film. I guess this may have been fear of distracting from the film's main theme, but which I think could have made the entire story and characters stronger if it were done well and believably.

Some details of these sub-plots also directly interfered with the main climbing theme, and maybe believability. eg. The love story (presumably tacked on for interest) included Luise shouting into a storm and amazingly being heard. I found this very difficult to believe -- I've been in what I thought were similar storms at high altitude (not dangling from a cliff), and had trouble screaming and being heard by people a couple of metres in front of me. Since leaving I've also read conflicting stories about the ending sequence, and although there would clearly have to be much creative licence for much of this under the circumstances, I now also wonder how much even confirmed facts have been changed to romanticise the story more.

All of this is small nitpicking, though. If you want to see some awesome cinematography it's a brilliant mountain film which makes it one of my favourite films. It's also not such a bad story if you're less pedantic than myself.

This is one of the best mountaineering films I have ever seen. It is one of the great mountaineering stories in the history of climbing. If you have a chance to see it, go the extra mile to get there. I was fortunate enough to see it at UC Irvine, Sneak Previews with Michael Berlin. I have been climbing most of my long life and have been watching climbing films for 40 years, this one really gives a sense of what it is really like in full conditions. This movie opens in the USA in January in New York and in Feb in the Los Angeles area. I really hope that people will support this film and that it gets to travel to other more remote parts of the country. Made in Germany in 2008, and widely supported there, I was pleasantly surprised by the non Hollywood style. It is almost like it was filmed in 1936 when the actual event transpired. Enjoy and support!