If I could describe the German-released movie North Face in just a single word, it would be the word horrific. Based on the true story of a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Swiss Alps, the subtitled movie gets better and better with each passing frame. For those moviegoers who aren’t into subtitled movies, I can sympathize. I tend to groan when I know I’m about to embark on one of those, too. Subtitled movies are ones that you need to prepare for, and, unfortunately, when a subtitled movie is bad, it almost becomes twice as dreadful to trudge through. But, at the same time, I have seen some fantastic foreign-language movies, and North Face ranks right up there with them. And, as with any good subtitled movie, when you are truly engaged, you don’t even notice you are reading the words anymore. I don’t know how I came across this movie, other than the fact that I love a good adventure movie (I am one of those people who tend to separate the adventure genre from the action genre).

Set in 1936, teams of two compete to get to the summit of the mountain while onlookers from below watch with great interest with binoculars from a cabin below. It was just before World War II, and Germany intended to show its prowess. Germany was set to host the Winter Olympics just months later, and the Nazi propaganda machine was ready to work. Named the Eiger, the Swiss sierra had never been conquered. Urged to compete were the best alpinists from each nation. Two advanced German climbers named Toni Kurz (Benno Fürmann – Jerichow, In Darkness) and Andi Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas – The Grand Budapest Hotel, When We Leave) reluctantly enter the competition.

The characters seem more aware of the potential risks associated with the event than some competitors, who cannot properly weigh risk vs. reward. Toni, the better climber, is also the more hesitant of the two. The Murder Wall, as it has often been called, had never been conquered, and Toni doesn’t think racing to get up is the best thing to do. As he is training, he runs into Luise (Johanna Wokalek –Barefoot, Aimée & Jaguar), the early love of his life. She is a journalist and has come with her boss, a loyal Nazi, to report on the climbers’ progress. However, she is less a journalist and more a gopher girl, and her boss, Arau, makes this clear to everyone. Luise’s presence may have influenced Toni’s decision to participate, but regardless, he decides to climb.

I’ll leave the plot at that, except that each pair of climbers featured in this movie (three pairs) experiences severe hardship as they fight the mountain’s elements. In the first paragraph, I mentioned the word horrific, and that’s what the second half of the movie is. The filming must have been insane because everything feels so incredibly real. Nothing is rushed. It’s as if we can feel each painstaking step. Each time we see a man shivering, we count our blessings for being in the comforts of our homes. The cinematography is fantastic. And as these men walk further and further up this grueling mountain that refuses to let them conquer it, we uncomfortably shift on our couches. These men are going through complete hell, and we are witnessing it all. For the last 30-45 minutes, your mouth will hang open as you await the fate of each man.

If you like adventure movies, Philipp Stölzl’s North Face. It makes movies like Vertical Limit look like Sesame Street. Don’t even worry about it not being in English. That is not important for this movie.

Plot 9.5/10
Character Development 8/10
Character Chemistry 7.5/10
Acting 8.5/10
Screenplay 9/10
Directing  10/10
Cinematography 10/10
Sound 8/10
Hook and Reel 9/10
Universal Relevance 10/10
89.5%

B+

Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie

• Touching the Void
• Everest
• Cliffhanger
• Vertical Limit
• The Alpinist