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North Face (Nordwand) Stars: Benno Furmann, Florian Lukas, Ulrich Tukur, Johanna Wokalek, Georg Friedrich and Simon Schwarz Director: Philip Stoelzl Scriptwriters: Philip Stoelzl, Rupert Henning, Johannes Naber and Christoph Silber. Based on a true story. Composer: Christian Kolonovits Cinematographer: Kolja Brandt German language with subtitles Music Box Films Rating: No rating but could be R for themed elements Running Length: 122 minutes It is during the time of Hitler’s rise to power. Everything had to be done to glorify the German people as the most powerful people on Earth. There happened to be a mountain near Germany called The Eiger. This gigantic piece of rock is famous for sudden changes in weather, wind velocity and avalanches. Still, climbers regularly try to climb it (reference Clint Eastwood’s film, The Eiger Sanction.) In this movie, based on a true story, two climbing teams from different countries, Austria and Germany, try to climb The Eiger at the same time. They are experienced, but not expertly so, which is the determining factor here. The German group will be covered by a newspaper reporter, Luise (Johanna Wokalek) who happens to have a thing for one of the climbers, Toni (Benno Furmann.) Urged on by a bit of ego, Toni and Andi (Florian Lukas) start the ascent from the German point of view, while the Austrian climbers Willy and Edi (Simon Schwarz and Georg Friedrich) are coming from another angle. The weather rapidly changes and before you can say,“Where are your gloves?” they are in a blizzard, with danger of avalanches and rescue is just another word in a dictionary. Johanna tries to pull together a rescue team, but everyone is stalled somewhere along the way by this freak storm. What is heart-rending, is that there are old shafts that had been cut into the mountain and reached from an Inn on the other side. The rescuers can shout to the stranded climbers but that’s about all. Time slowly moves and it gets colder and darker. If this were a horror movie, about this time the monsters would come out and devour everyone. The monsters here are humans who are ill-equipped, unprepared, and equipment that could have been rechecked. This film, as we see it from a theater seat, could be a harbinger of Hitler’s empire in years to come. Ill-equipped, unprepared and equipment that could have been rechecked. Director Philip Stoelzl does a heroic job of bringing the audience to the Eiger. "I want to climb it because it is there” becomes meaningless. “There” is going to take you and snap your frozen self into little pieces. Such is the cold of that particular night. The Eiger just doesn’t want to be climbed. Photography by Kolja Brandt is just plain magnificent and Christian Kolonivits soundtrack is a definite plus. For such high views, people would climb just about anything, but knowing within themselves that it may be their last view, also. The actors do a wonderful job of depicting the challenges climbers face. There must have been stunt people here, but it was seamlessly woven into the climbing sequences. Benno Furmann’s Toni is a leader, but even he can’t grasp how quickly the mountain changes from pleasant to fierce. Florian Lukas’ Andi is a jovial sort but when it comes to the mountain, equipment is king. The script gives you just enough knowledge about the climbers and Luise, so you emphasize with them on this journey that should not have started in the first place. Quality entertainment with a breath-taking view of climbing and consequences Copyright 2010 Marie Asner
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