2008, Germany/Austria/Switzerland
Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, Romance, War
READ THE REVIEW AT The Desert Sun.
Extended version:
Mountaineering is a hard sell as a spectator sport, but the 1936 Winter Olympic Games in Bavaria decided the activity would provide an excellent chance for someone to conquer the Eiger's North Face. First to the top of these Bernese Alps would receive a gold medal, and the Olympic committee was hoping that a German team would snag the prize. Philipp Stölzl directs North Face to document this daunting assent.
Best friends Toni Kurz (Benno Fürmann, Joyeux Noël) and Andreas Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas, Good Bye Lenin!) have bagged their share of peaks, but when approached about adding Eiger to their list, Toni is hesitant. The "Wall of Death" is considered a mercurial beast, where not only a difficult climb but the forces of Mother Nature could sacrifice the best of climbers, including the friends' townhood competitors. However, a push in the right direction from childhood friend Luise (Johanna Wokalek, The Baader Meinhof Complex) who is reporting on the event encourages the two Germans to leave their posts at the Mountain Brigade and grab their ropes for Switzerland.
The feat is especially thrilling considering that the participants are not donning the latest weatherproof Gore-Tex nor utilizing the modern anchoring devices which make rock climbing safer. Old school hammers, pitons and prayers get them up the mountain, and that is only if they survive rockslides, avalanches and frostbite. Ice fields are little more than hard packed snow, and they cross these without crampons. Cinematographer Kolja Brandt captures each treacherous crag and icy slope as the enormity of the task is visualized.
These tough as nails outdoorsmen are not completely hardened, and when in close pursuit by an injured Austrian team, they must decide whether to push on to the peak or assist their challengers. Stölzl creates a tense atmosphere that is simultaneously human and true grit, as the competitors face not only their own mortality but their fellow man's. This amazing journey is contrasted sharply with the upper class crowd who watch the event safely from a mountainside chateau, spying through telescopes in between sumptuous meals and drinks by the fire. Their comfort only further emphasizes the hardship of this challenge and, as the crowd's interest wanes the longer the contestants' travails progress in inclement weather, the loneliness of the pursuit.
What begins as a spritely adventure ultimately becomes shrouded in the risk of mortal danger, and North Face tackles this hefty true story with respect for the athletes who put their lives in peril for bragging rights.