North Face (2010)

Though climbers are forbidden from going up the north face of the Eiger due to the unpredictable weather and near impossibility of the task, it’s an open secret that the first ones to accomplish the ascent will be hailed as heroes. A Berlin newspaper learns that one of its junior employees was childhood friends with a German climbing team and decides to send her out to see if she can convince them to attempt the climb.

The first half is interesting and somehow sweet as we watch the team bicker about whether or not to climb, the junior employee (a female) rekindles an apparent romance with one of the climbers, and one of the assignment editors pares the drama of the climb down to its gauche readability (success or tragedy -- anything in between is boring). But the last half dragged on and on. They get in trouble, they try to climb down, and then there’s a lot of yelling over winds and waiting. It also suffered from a bit of Perfect Storm syndrome. Yes, it’s based on a true story...but without an eyewitness, many of the events are a good guess at best.

C