“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
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