Nordwand (2008)

Germany, Austria, Switzerland 121m, Colour
Director: Philipp Stölzl; Cast: Benno Fürmann, Florian Lukas, Johanna Wokalek, Ulrich Tukur

A dramatization of historical events, North Face is a climbing film that is based on the failed 1936 international “race” to the summit of the Eiger’s north face. Technically, the film’s period climbing scenes are generally authentic looking and are well shot. While a number of the details of the story are accurately depicted, disappointingly, the plot veers away from the original story to provide a carefully constructed anti-Nazi message. Considering the legacy of Germany’s “Mountain films”, the underlying political message is understandable, but in my opinion, unnecessarily apologetic and serving little purpose other than to distance itself from the past (Klaus Ming January 2019).