North Face

2010 "A true story"
7.4| 2h6m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 29 January 2010 Released
Producted By: Lunaris Film
Country: Switzerland
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.nordwand-film.de/
Synopsis

North Face tells the story of two German climbers Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoisser and their attempt to scale the deadly North Face of the Eiger.

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Reviews

Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.
Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
SnoopyStyle 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.
hjbuhrkall To be fair, I didn't know the story of Kurz & Hinterstoisser before watching the movie, and hence I had no idea of their struggle or the horrible result of their endeavor. So when I watched the movie, I believed it to be portraying a first ascent of the Eiger, not a miserable demise.I was stunned by the simplicity in mountaineering back then, and even more by the personal strength and courage it must have taken for them to do what they did… but even though they were real manly men, they all suffer agonizingly and slow deaths, and it just left me with a strong sensation of empathy, for their powerlessness, and futile efforts against the mountain.I can honestly say that I (naively)believed it to have a happy ending, but the reality of the movie left me in awe and deep respect for the forces of the mountains, and the effort of those trying to conquer them.Truly an amazing movie!
jvdesuit1 Why do the script writers and movie directors have such little respect for history? This is something I'll never understand.In the North face we are again confronted to such an inexcusable behavior. What should we do then? Condemn the whole movie and suppress it from the list or be indulgent about it?In the case of this movie at least we have a choice between two versions of the tragedy which is told. We can watch the Joe Simpson's movie adapted from his book the Beckoning Silence and then have the real facts staged before us with very interesting comments by the great climber who faced that terrible mountain.On the other hand North face in spite of its flaws remains a great movie because of the fantastic actors and the intense atmosphere of the scenario. From this point of view it is much more dramatic than Simpson's movie. Perhaps the flaw which is the worst of all is at the beginning of the movie which present Newsreels which are obviously edited to motivate the subsequent presentation of this historical event. From a German director and script writer this is unforgivable. Especially in the dramatic period Germany was facing you are not allowed to change facts of that kind even if you try to stress what was going on in the country with its huge and massive propaganda, lies and boldness .This is for me by far the greatest flaw in the movie. The rest is childish or assumptions of what was going on between the participants of the climb. We were not there and can't tell what they were saying to each others during the events, our guesses may be true or quite wrong. Does it really matter? Of course not, the tragedy was the same in the end.From a cinematic point of view the film is astounding even considering that we have today such possibilities to recreate such conditions.From an acting point of view again we have great actors doing a splendid performance in all respects. Benno Fürmann is absolutely moving all along the film. Ulrich Tukur in the part of the German journalist is giving an image of the typical Nazi thinking only of the glory of his country whatever the costs in lives. You hate him from the beginning without restrictions. His performance is also interesting because it is the full opposite to the part he played in Costa Gavras's Amen 6 years earlier.Johanna Wokalek and Florian Lukas are also great showing both respectively the fragility of a woman too naive to understand how her boss exploits her for his only ambition and the guy too ambitious to realize the incredible carelessness of his decisions.In conclusion both movies are a must see without restrictions at all.
gwlucca Nordwand moves along like a finely jeweled Swiss watch. It functions at many levels: It is the story of a young female trying to earn respect in a man's world of journalism in 1936 Berlin. It is the story of her boss, whose "nose for news" reflects the morbid fascination of a readership that craves either the heights of historic triumph or the depths of tragic failure -- any middle ground is not "newsworthy." It is the tale of young friends trying to make names for themselves by daring exploit.The film poses many questions. Is our attraction to mortally dangerous acts powered by the same force that drew Roman crowds to the gladiator arena? Do adventurers seek glory for themselves, or are they goaded to risk their lives for the satisfaction of others? And if the daring cross the line between the heroic and the foolhardy, must their rescuers do the same? This film is a travelogue back in time, from Berlin to Bavaria to the Swiss Alps by bicycle and train. It's an art film, with the Eiger providing photogenic backdrop. It's an adventure film. It's a love story. It's a tragedy. It is one part historic documentary and three parts cinematic drama, all in cadence. Oh yes, it is also a great film about climbing.