North Face (Philipp Stolzl, 2008): Germany

Reviewed by Kathleen Amboy.  Viewed on Netflix.

  In 1936 Nazi Germany, the propaganda machine attempted to push two of its own soldiers and experienced climbers to summit the  North Face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps, ahead of competing Austrian climbers Edi Rainer (Georg Friedrich) and Willy Angerer (Simon Schwarz).

In a competition to reach the summit first, Toni Kurz (Benno Furmann) and Andreas Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas), set out for the climb, but are not fully prepared.  Luise (Johanna Wokalek), Toni’s love interest, is a novice newspaper woman being mentored by her cynical boss Henry Arau (Ulrich Tukur).

As a rainstorm passes, the night sky clears and the German team start out ill-prepared, minus their crampons and with a limited supply of roping.  To their annoyance, the Austrians soon follow and begin taunting them.  One of the Austrian climbers is injured just as a shift in the weather occurs bringing a snowstorm.  Toni and Andi have the choice of continuing their ascent or helping the Austrians get down the mountain safely.

Making the moral choice to help their fellow climbers all hell breaks loose, as the storm worsens a leg is broken, gloves are lost, an arm is frozen solid, and frostbite sets in.  The climbers attempt to retrace their steps, but alas they run out of rope!  Meanwhile down at the base, Luise is watching their harrowing descent from an observation deck and making a moral choice of her own, whether to cover the story for headlines (and possibly further her career), or seek help for her friends up on the mountain.  Henry encourages her to go for the story!

With great stunts, and terrific cinematography, North Face is as thrilling as 1997’s Into Thin Air  and is based on a true story as well.  Though the film portrays the German team as being apolitical with the Nazi theme practically nil, it would have given the plot more depth if the filmmakers had developed this aspect a bit more, but overall it’s a great film.

About this entry

You’re currently reading “North Face (Philipp Stolzl, 2008): Germany,” an entry on Student Film Reviews

Published:
06.26.10 / 4pm
Category:
DVD, Films, Online Films