North face official uk trailer in cinemas 12th december
North Face (German: Nordwand) is a 2008 German historical fiction film directed by Philipp Stölzl and starring Benno Fürmann, Florian Lukas, Johanna Wokalek, and Ulrich Tukur. Based on the famous 1936 attempt to climb the Eiger north face, the film is about two German climbers involved in a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps.
The movie portrays an attempt in 1936 to summit the Eiger via the north face by two competing climbing teams. The more prominently featured pair of German climbers are Toni Kurz (Fürmann) and Andi Hinterstoisser (Lukas) from Berchtesgaden. After being refused leave from the German army (falsely claiming one of them is getting married and the other is to be Best Man), they quit their service in order to make the attempt. They are portrayed as being more interested in mountaineering than in the current politics of the time. The competing team of Austrians that eventually teams up with the German team are portrayed as hoping for a Nazi-led incorporation of Austria into Germany. Watching their summit attempt is their childhood friend Luise (Wokalek), now working for a German newspaper, who is accompanied by her cynical superior Mr. Arau (Tukur).
After a successful theatrical run in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, the film was released in several non-German speaking countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan from 2009-2010, receiving favorable reviews throughout.
Awards and nominations
2009 German Film Award in Gold for Best Cinematography (Kolja Brandt)
2009 German Film Award in Gold for Best Sound (Heinz Ebner, Guido Zettier, Christian Bischoff, Tschangis Chahrokh)
2009 German Film Award in Gold Nomination for Best Production Design (Udo Kramer)
2009 German Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography (Kolja Brandt)
2009 German Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay (Philipp Stölzl, Christoph Silber, Rupert Henning, Johannes Naber)
2009 Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Award Nomination for Best Sound Editing - Foreign Feature (Alexander Buck, Carsten Richter, Alexander Vitt, Guido Zettier, Tobias Poppe)
Historical elements of the plot
German government publicity did draw attention to German and Austrian mountaineering, and to climbing the North Face in particular, as matters of German national and ethnic pride.
The names and nationalities of the members of the historical single team of four who set out to attempt the ascent together correspond to those of the members of the two fictional teams.
Like the fictional Andi and Toni, the historical Andreas Hinterstoisser and Toni Kurz did have a shared association with Berchtesgaden, having, two years before their deaths, established a route together on the Berchtesgadener Hochthron.
The route of the historical team is essentially as portrayed in the film.
The rope that Hinterstoisser placed on the Hinterstoisser Traverse, and was used by the others to cross, was removed before the last team member continued upward.
When recovered, the corpse of one of the Austrian climbers showed he had been bandaged for a head wound.
During the descent Andi did attempt to cross the area known as Hinterstoisser Traverse using the pendulum traverse, as he had the ascent, and gave up when he realised his efforts were futile. (Even though the scene in the movie is short, Andi tried for hours but to no avail)
A rope supporting two climbers was cut
to move forward with the attempt at rescue (rather than in crisis of the next seconds or few minutes),
below the climber doing the cutting (rather by one of climbers dropping as a result),
on instructions from the rescuers, and
after the two appeared beyond communicating or helping in their own rescue.
had lost a glove and found the corresponding arm stiff and useless,
communicated with would-be rescuers at the tunnel "window",
unravelled a rope using teeth and one hand over the course of five hours, producing a longer cord which he lowered so an additional rope could be tied to it and sent up for the rest of his descent,
Anschluss between Germany and Austria had substantial public support in Austria, and was effected in 1938.
