by Scott Rice - SGN Contributing Writer

North Face
Now Playing

The best films, films such as Casablanca, often possess a preternatural blend of cinematic elements. Complicated characters find themselves facing extraordinary obstacles in extreme settings and still find time to fall (back) in love.

North Face, written and directed by Philipp Stölzl, ticks all those boxes and many more in this classic style film based on the true story of Toni Kurz (Benno Fürmann) and Andreas Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas), German mountain climbers who attempted to climb the dreaded Eiger (German for "ogre") of the Bernese Alps in Switzerland, circa 1936.

The boys set out to climb the famous mountain for the same reason humans have been climbing mountains since we first drifted out of the Olduvai Gorge: because it's there. However, they take on this personal challenge under the power-hungry political cloud of the Nazi propaganda machine, which was in full swing in 1936 as it geared up to illustrate Aryan superiority to the world in the Berlin Olympic games. The Nazis wanted German mountaineer heroes to be first up the Eiger's treacherous north face to set the stage for the games, and they'd get them there at any cost. It seems Kurz and Hinterstoisser just wanted to climb the damn mountain.

Though I'm not sure how historically correct the details are from here, within the film the Nazis give orders to a Berlin newspaper to cover the heroic ascent of the Germans even though Kurz and Hinterstoisser haven't agreed to do the deed. Luise Fellner (Johanna Wokalek), a plucky neophyte photographer, is making coffee when she hears the editors discussing the pending race up the mountain (teams of French, Italian, and Austrian climbers are also on their way to face the Eiger).

Fellner just happened to grow up in the same village as Kurz and Hinterstoisser (I love movie magic) and she sets out to convince them to make the climb. Without giving too much away, she just may have a romantic history with one or both of the climbers - you'll have to pony up to find out.

The boys decide to make the attempt, a thrilling race up the mountain ensues, and a thrilling ride is had by all. Needless to say, I love this film.

The setting, the era and the geography are romantic and gorgeous. From the period-perfect costume design to the unselfconscious representation of an often overly simplified historical moment, the film captures the temporal setting perfectly and realistically. There are no flat Nazi villains, no noble victims, no shining heroes; these are just people caught living their lives (albeit extraordinary lives) within the political and cultural moment of the times. The characters and the story feel real, which is good since things are based on real people and real events, even if a tad - a perfectly forgivable amount - of narrative license is employed.

Perhaps most importantly, this is an awesome story. The best films have one thing in common, and that is that each tells a good story. This is the center of every good film (or novel, short story, poem, song, painting, dress, building, etc., I could go on and on). The characters are fascinating, their adventure is dangerous, and the action is relentless.

While James Cameron changed filmmaking forever this year with Avatar, I believe there's still room for real films on real celluloid with real humans and all the gravitas of a real story in contemporary cinema. That's what North Face is: good old-fashioned (not a pejorative) filmmaking. There is very little in the way of digital bells and whistles, but if you're looking for a thrilling story with interesting characters in a complicated era facing an impossible landscape, check out this flick.

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