.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

Based on actual events, North Face is the harrowing story about a competition to climb the north face of the Swiss massif - the Eiger - in 1936. The story focuses on two German climbers, Toni and Andreas (played by Benno Fürmann and Florian Lukas) who resign from the German army to pursue the glory and expectation of their country to be the first to topple the mountainous beast.

Their motivation is aided by Luise Fellner (Johanna Wokalek) and old friend who now works as a reporter/photographer who tries to convince the reluctant free spirits to attempt the face that claimed the lives of over 60 others climbers.

Toni and Andreas are soon travelling by bicycle the 700 miles to the foot of the mountain with their standard and homemade gear with a plan to scale the face of the mountain in early July, 1936.

Their early morning start ahead of the other teams gets Toni and Andreas quickly to their first objective, but weather, ice, rocks and generally lousy conditions will slow them down and eventually, lead them to perilous nights stranded thousands of meters above any help.

Directed by Philipp Stölzl, North Face is a thrilling adventure of men's courage in the face of adversity and the relationship of fellow climbers when survival overtakes the importance of the accomplishment.

You can almost feel every bone snap, every finger freeze and every rope tug as the men struggle for survival and have to make life and death decisions when a climber in an adjoining party suffers a serious accident. Options of abandoning the climb to bring the injured climber to safety overtake their attempt at national glory.

Nail-biting situations are shot brilliantly as nature's fury bears down on our heroes as Luise and a selection of interested onlookers watch helplessly as things unfold.

Much like Kevin MacDonald's Touching the Void, the mountain and the elements take on their own personalities and the horrors of the un-Hollywood truths of their peril make North Face as gripping as it is saddening. All makes North Face a must-see.