Saturday Night At The Movies
First there is a mountain
By Dennis Hartley
The hills are alive: Florian Lukas and Benno Furmann in North Face
The language of cinema may be universal, but certain genres loom iconic in a more nation-centric vein. The American western, the Japanese samurai film and the French farce come to mind. Germany’s claim to fame in this context (arguably running neck-in-neck with Expressionism) would have to be the Alpine “mountain films” of the 1920s and 1930s, ruggedly adventurous tales pitting man (and occasionally, the ruggedly adventurous Leni Riefenstahl) against nature. The narratives generally deal with issues regarding moral fiber and strength of character (I bet you’re glad I didn’t say “triumph of the will”), as well as variations on the theme of “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Many entries in the film cycle hold up amazingly well today, mostly due to the genuinely exciting on-location climbing sequences, which obviously had to be filmed without benefit of modern tricks like CGI. Okay, there was some fudging with the really hairy stuff, but the actors and crew were often working in relatively perilous situations.
Unfortunately, my Blu-Ray player refused to facilitate access to any of the “making of” bonus features contained on the Region 2 disc I screened for this review, so I’m still in the dark as to how perilous the situations may have been during the production of Philipp Stozl’s remarkably authentic mountaineering tale, North Face (released in Germany in 2008 as Nordwand, but only just now making its theatrical debut here in the states). I will tell you one thing. Despite what I know in my heart of hearts about the “magic” of moviemaking-days later, I’m still asking myself just how in the hell they produced this film without any cast or crew members going “Whoopsie!” and plunging to their doom.
The film is based on the true story of four climbers (a pair of two-man teams, one German and the other Austrian) who tackled the previously unconquered north face of Switzerland’s legendary Eiger in 1936. This particular route to the summit of the formidable 13,000 foot peak was considered to be a suicidal prospect at best; especially due to its dauntingly sheer ascent, extremely dicey traversals, unforgiving exposure to mercurial weather conditions and relative scarcity of safe bivouacking options. Based on what I have gleaned from my research about the actual events, Stolzl and his three co-writers (Cristoph Silber, Rupert Henning and Johannes Naber) have definitely taken some artistic license in their dramatization, but have nonetheless delivered a riveting adventure.
For the purposes of the film, the hotshot German climbing team of lifelong friends Toni Kurz (Benno Furmann) and Andreas Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas) are portrayed to be professional rivals of their Austrian counterparts, Edi Rainer (Georg Friedrich) and Willy Angerer (Simon Schwarz). Toni and Andreas have been persuaded by the government to represent Germany (and for Nazi propaganda purposes, the “superior” Aryan ideal) in a multi-European nation mountaineering competition to scale the Eiger. The two are much more enthusiastic about the potential opportunity to become the first to successfully navigate the north face than they are about scoring any political points for the Fatherland. In fact, neither are party members. Although they are in the German army, both men seem ambivalent about their military careers; whenever they’re addressed with a “Heil Hitler!”, their usual rejoinder is either a cheery “Good morning!” or a jaunty “Berg Heil!”
A female childhood friend of the pair named Luise (Johanna Wokelek), who is now an aspiring photojournalist, is assigned to accompany her editor (Ulrich Tukur) to cover the competition (for those who fret about historical accuracy, she’s a complete invention). It is intimated that Luise and Toni share a romantic history (although the torch has been smoldering for some time). For one reason or another, the Germans and the Austrians are the only two teams who end up making the climb; initially as competitors but eventually merging as one team due to unexpected circumstances. The ascent subsequently is aborted and becomes a harrowing survival tale that will have you on the edge of your seat (I nearly had an anxiety attack, but then I am a major wuss when it comes to heights).
Despite a melodramatic conceit or two, Stolzl has delivered a completely believable film; intensely immersive, exhilarating and heartbreaking. All of the mountaineering sequences are astounding, instilling a real sense of admiration for what these men were able to achieve, outfitted in their relatively primitive 1930s climbing gear (no Gore-Tex or GPS tracking devices in those days). The Nazi politics are downplayed, but the filmmakers do make a pointed juxtaposition between the porcine “spectators” and journalists reveling in warm and cozy opulence at the nearby “four-star” hotel, and the tortuous, sub-zero life-and-death struggles unfolding just a few miles away on the Eiger. Whether this was intended as political allegory is up for debate. There is a touch of Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole
in one scene. When news reaches the journalists that the climbers have aborted the attempt and begun a premature descent, Luise asks her cynical editor why he has made an abrupt decision to abandon the story as well and immediately leave the hotel. He snorts, “You either need a glorious triumph…or a horrible tragedy. An unspectacular retreat is nothing more than a few lines on page 3.” (Sigh) The more things change…
Because it’s there: Mountain of Destiny, The White Hell of Pitz Palu
, The Holy Mountain
(1926), Storm Over Mont Blanc
,The Blue Light
, Touching the Void
, The Man Who Skied Down Everest
, Steep
, K2
, Vertical Limit
, The Eiger Sanction
, This Ascent
, Lost Horizon
, The Razor's Edge
(original 1946 version), Seven Years in Tibet
, Cliffhanger
, The Climb (1986), The White Tower
, Five Days One Summer
, The Mountain
, Alive
, The Guns of Navarone
, Where Eagles Dare
, On Her Majesty's Secret Service
, For Your Eyes Only
, Annibale, Careful 
, Women in Love
, The Sound of Music
.
Previous posts with related themes:
Man on Wire
