“A mountaineering adventure more tense, more edge-of-the-seat suspenseful, than Touching the Void? Almost incredibly, this German drama, based on a true story [the Eiger, 1936], is that film.” — The Independent
You wince at the woolen mitts and heavy antique ropes... an almost unendurably tense watch.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2009
North Face 2008
Nordwand
“A mountaineering adventure more tense, more edge-of-the-seat suspenseful, than Touching the Void? Almost incredibly, this German drama, based on a true story, is that film. Benno Fürmann and Florian Lukas play a pair of ace climbers who in July 1936, amid the rabble-rousing propaganda of the Nazis, attempt to scale the north face of the Eiger, otherwise known as the ‘murder wall'... Writer-director Philipp Stölzl evokes a keen sense of period in setting up the story, but once it switches to the mountain face, with avalanches and bitter weather looming ominously, the film becomes as taut as a holding rope.” — Anthony Quinn, The Independent
“A viscerally effective portrayal of man against nature... Brilliantly shot, utterly convincing footage of young men inching up a vertical rock face proves nerve-racking and a worthy tribute to the true-life bravery of 1930s climbers. It's gripping and fascinating in equal measure.” — Trevor Johnson, Film4.com