Review – North Face

Picture this as Germany’s answer to Chariots of Fire. It’s a movie about two gifted athletes seeking the ultimate achievement in their sport, but rather than Olympic track medals these guys are trying to climb the eponymous side of the Eiger. That allows for considerably more angst-ridden peril and of course a more tragic ending. If nothing else, any desire to try mountain climbing – as I in my youth once aspired to do – may well be cured by this viewing experience. On the other hand, the mountain footage is pretty. It also raises some interesting points about nationalist politics in 1936. Worth seeing