Director: Philipp Stölzl
Story: Benedikt Roeskau
Writers: Christoph Silber, Philipp Stölzl, Rupert Henning, Johannes Naber
Producers: Benjamin Herrmann, Gerd Huber, Danny Krausz, Rudolf Santschi, Boris Schönfelder, Kurt Stocker, Isabelle Welter
Starring: Benno Fürmann, Florian Lukas, Johanna Wokalek, Georg Friedrich, Simon Schwarz, Ulrich Tukur, MPAA Rating: NR
Running time: 121 min.
(3.5/5)How many films about mountain climbing have been made… ever? Now how many of those titles can you think of that you’ve seen? Quite likely several. Trepidation isn’t quite the word I would use to describe my feelings walking into a movie I was pretty sure I’d already seen a thousand times over. Maybe neutral would be a better word. Because even though I’ve seen these types of movies before, the intensity in dealing with a willingly death defying situation and the almost unimaginable surroundings can never really get old. Still, some of the rehash thoughts are always lingering in the back of the mind. Luckily, this film does a few things that are a little bit different. The reasons for the climb and the time period for starters.
We’re introduced to two of the best, German mountain climbers in their field, Toni and Andy, as they scale a peak somewhere in Germany during the spring of 1936. After reaching the summit they discuss their next feat: a possible climb to to the top of The Eiger (“the last problem of The Alps”) via the north face; a vertical tower of almost 6000 ft above the valley floor. It’s covered with ice fields and crevices with the potential for flash storms and avalanches. Toni refuses to go, as it is far too dangerous; you can be the best in the world and the chance of survival is still a lottery. But advancing Toni’s ambitions is a long lost female friend who is now working for a prestigious German newspaper (under control of course by the Nazi party) and together with her snakelike boss unknowingly convince Toni to embark on the treacherous climb as it’s important that the Germans scale the peak first as a P.R. sign of strength just before the Olympic games are held in Berlin.
The film really takes its time getting set up. The character introductions and their motivations are important because otherwise this would be another ho-hum, man vs. nature assault that would probably leave the audience wanting. It’s important that we care about these characters and understand who each one is. Though it’s a true life story, there are roles to be played here and each character must deliver what is expected of him or her in order to not only propagate the story, but also further the viewers’ compassion.
It is this set up that is what ascends the film above derivation. Judging from past films of this ilk and what we’re expecting from the trailer, it seems that this is a nonstop adrenaline rush of intensity and nail biting. Though of course some of that is in here, this is more or less of a slow burn story of survival with more heartfelt moments of camaraderie and struggle with perception and politics than a hanging by a thread, mountain scaling picture. Yes there are avalanches and the cliché moments as a piton slowly inches its way out from an overhang. But there is plenty more underneath the surface dealing with politics, competition and the arrogance of mankind.
Having said all of that, while the setup and character motivations are indeed necessary, it does seem to go on a bit longer than needed. The morning before the climbers embark, the love interest in the film remarks to her boss that she’d “wish it would just be over with.” To which he responds, “I wish it would just get underway.” I would bet that one of those two sentiments is exactly what each and every one of the audience members were thinking as well. While the need for character development is important, the film needs to deliver on its promise as well. It does take some time to finally get to the climb (well over an hour), but eventually it does get to what we really want to see: the actual experience… for the most part.
Once we’re on the mountain things get hairy almost from the start. Our “heroes”, the German team, sets off early early in the morning while it’s still dark. As they ascend into the sky, they catch a glimpse of the less experienced and seemingly less intelligent, Austrian team hot on their trail. With this lesser amount of experience, mistakes are obviously made and possibly out of pure humanity, the German team agrees to work together with the Austrians so that they’ll make it to the top without dying. Here is where everything begins to go wrong and the semi-intense moments begin to take hold of us. An impressive storm of hurtling snow swirls about while chucks of ice and rock fall from above. Poor decisions are made and a few simple cases of bad luck begin to overtake the spirit of the climbing team.
But less interesting are the close-call moments and the shoestring balance of life and death than is the staggeringly beautiful photography that captures this completely unreal world so magically. It’s this stunning cinematography that almost transports us right into the boots of these climbers and the agony and misery of facing death in such a harsh environment. It is also what gives us a sense of desperation and indeed frustration as the climbers are time and time again, mere meters from salvation. One moment everything looks so close and within their grasp; the next, we can see things from another perspective and realize how far away we actually are.
There are some flaws that could’ve been panned out a little bit better. The love interest is inferred and gets a little hackneyed for a while, but that’s really par for the course with these types of films (ya know, something to live for and all that) so it’s easily overlooked. There is a loose connection to media and politicization that could’ve been fleshed out and explored a little bit more. It’s hinted at here and there and sometimes the more obvious points are insultingly spelled out for us. But considering the time and locale, the importance of politics could’ve come in to a play a little more. Particularly with the use of such a clear unlikable weasel for the audience to root against. Not quite a villain as he never does anything to explicitly impede upon progress or even say anything out of line to the climbers. I realized that the film makers are probably trying to be as authentic as possible, which includes keeping characters as true as possible, but this character’s motivations could’ve been explored a little bit deeper. Who are his superiors? What are the consequences of his action or inactions? What are his rewards? A fascinating character that just wasn’t utilized enough (instead we spend too much time watching the love interest sulk with the aging, mountain train conductor.
The musical cues must be mentioned. It was there when needed, but thankfully we were spared of it during some of the harshest moments on the side of the mountain. Waiting through endless hours of night and cold is so much more harrowing when we’re left with only the howling winds and the snow beating against the rocks and faces of our heroes. Kudos to the film makers for their restraint in this affect. Of course the harrowing moments are usually amped up by quite an impressive orchestral score. And during one of the final sequences, the sound of a single pick axe hammering away at pitons in the background is the perfect rhythm to keep the intensity building but also stretch the moments of futility.
Throughout the screening, I never could shake the vibe of the Titanic from my thoughts. Here is essentially a period piece love story that is surrounded by a bunch of arrogant, aristocratic men and women with no respect for the awe of nature. Their only concern is making the morning paper while laughing in the face of danger. They’re continuously counting the chickens before they’ve hatched at the expense of less fortunate, yet more courageous and franky better people. It’s interesting to watch these people unknowingly sink the proverbial ship before it has even set sail. And by the time they realize the folly of their ways, it’s too late to do anything about it.
