The Revival of German Mountain Films——Nordwand and German Mountain Films

Eugenia 2022-01-19 08:01:07

There is no doubt that "Nordwand" is a tribute to the German genre called "Bergfilm" popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Mountain film movies are fascinating, mainly because of their Nordic spirit (Nordic) core, and the Nordic spirit is Germanic civilization (Northern Europe, Germany) different from Latin civilization (France, Italy, Spain) and Slavic civilization (Czech, Poland, Russia) , Yugoslavia). Of course, the Nordic spirit has much influence on the other two European civilizations. Therefore, understanding the so-called Nordic spirit is also helpful to understand this movie. The purpose of this article is not only to interpret "The North Wall", but also to introduce a mountain movie unique to Germany, and to discuss the philosophical and cultural significance of mountain movies.

Nordic, let’s translate it into the Nordic spirit. It’s really hard to tell for a while. In fact, the first dynasty of Lao Maozi, the Rurik dynasty, was also a Viking. He led Maozi to convert to Orthodox Vladimir. They are also Vikings, and the so-called Normans are also Vikings. Therefore, the five European powerhouses, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, and Austria all have Viking ancestry, as well as Nordic spirit. This question is too complicated and needs to be addressed separately.

1. German mountain movies in the 20s and 30s

The indisputable representative of German mountain movies is Arnold Fanck (1889-1974), who was born in Frankenthal, Rhineland-Palatinate, southwestern Germany, and obtained geography from Humboldt University in Berlin Doctorate, and has always been known as Dr. Arnold Fanck, even in the movie credits, he never forgets his Ph.D. title. In addition, this is really very German. In Germany, if you get a PhD in a foreign country, it is illegal for you to put Dr. in front of your name. You have to stay in a black jail for a year, so you really don't lie to you. Now it’s okay. Before World War II, a German doctor was equivalent to a low-level knight title. You become a nobleman after you read a doctor, so the Germans really take it very seriously. Arnold Fanck is a very good mountaineer himself. In 1920, he founded Berg-und Sportfilm GmbH Freiburg in Freiburg with Rolf Bauer, Odo Deodatus Tauern and Bernhard Villinger. In 1920, he produced his first film, the documentary Das Wunder des Schneeschuhs ("The Miracle of Snow Boots"). Then a more important documentary film "Im Kampf mit dem Berge" (Im Kampf mit dem Berge) was released in 1921. This film was 72 minutes long. Paul Hindemith composed outstanding film music for this documentary, which lasted 58 minutes. This length was incredible at the time.

Dr. Fanck

It was not until 1924 that Dr. Fanck (we also respect it, and add Dr. to him) did not release his first feature film mountain movie "Mountain of Destiny", starring the mountaineer Luis Trenker (later he became a very A successful director is also an important mountain film director). In 1926, Dr. Fanck filmed the most important film in the history of film "Der Heilige Berg" (Der Heilige Berg). In this film, Dr. Fanck discovered the awesome Leni Riefenstahl. Yes, she is the spokesperson of Fascist aesthetics. The most powerful female director, later filmed "Victory of Will" and "Olympia". Sepp Allgeier, the photographer of this film, was the photographer of "Victory of Will", and the configuration was so powerful that it was heinous.

Leni Riefenstahl, if there is a position of "Empire Vision Director", then this position must belong to her old man

German mountain cinema has trained many professionals. In addition to the above-mentioned talents, mountain cinematographer Hans Ertl later filmed "Olympia". After the outbreak of World War II, he became Rommel's photographer and accompanied the army to film the German conquest of Elbrus. Movie. He is also the inventor of the underwater camera and the ski camera.

Hans Ertl, Nima has never seen an unsightly Nazi

German mountain movies show the following distinctive features:

1. The mountain is sacred and a symbol of spirit.

2. Mountain climbing is through "self-challenge" to achieve spiritual sublimation. This concept is very close to the theme of Julius Evola's Meditations on the Peaks: Mountain Climbing as Metaphor for the Spiritual Quest.

3. Criticize modern city life and compare city life with traditional life closer to nature.

4. Have a tragic view of the relationship between the sexes. Simply put, mountain movies generally end up with one death, at least one.

5. Masculinity as a spiritual ideal .

6. Teutonic bravery , women's action power comes from men. ,

7. Praise the "romantic loneliness" , which shows that many men are among the "robe-style self-sacrifice" (Oh, Chinese is really broken, in fact I want to say comradeship, but the word comrade is ambiguous)

8. The blurring of the boundary between reality and fantasy. The shooting method is close to the documentary style, and the actor does not need to be a substitute. Although the early mountain film actors and photographers were good climbers, it is conceivable that they still have to face great risks. You know if you don’t take pictures when you look at the scene. Some of these characters play themselves in the movie, such as the pilot Ernst Udet. Ernst Udet must specifically introduce, this elder brother is the commander of the German air circus in World War I, second only to the Red Baron in the second air combat ace. After the war, because Germany was not allowed to own an air force, Udet became the world's top super pilot, playing himself in Riefenstahl's films "Die weiße Hölle vom Piz Palue", "Stürme über dem Montblanc" and other films. In 1939, he was invited by his old comrade Ge Dafa to be the director of weapons production for the Luftwaffe, and was a first-level general of the Third Reich Air Force.

9. Romantic fatalism.

General Udet in World War I was still a lieutenant at the time, handsome

The above 9 elements constitute the core of Dr. Fanck's silent mountain movie, and they also appear in "Nordwand". None of them are left. Yes, even General Udet has come out.

The French shark wearing a Nazi military uniform in "Unscrupulous Bastard", the Nazi conscription poster is both visual and handsome

Quentin also has an excellent tribute to the German mountain film in "Unscrupulous Bastard". When the British officer played by Farshark was questioned by the SS, he lied that he was from Berchtesgaden and had acted in "Holy Mountain" to justify himself. Fortunately, he explained the strange accent in the first round of the contest. This passage is absurd but true, because the actors in the skiing passage in the sacred mountain are all local residents, and their names are all typed in the cast. I love Quentin's exquisite "vulgarity", you can't see these points if you don't love movies.

2. The mountain film tradition of "Nordwand"

Mountain movies are not well-known outside of Germany, but in Germany, "Nordwand" was immediately accepted as a revival of mountain movies by critics and learned fans. The film producer and director also publicly acknowledged this. Director Philipp Stöltzl said in the film announcement: This film is inspired by the classic mountain film. Stöltzl's work is very interesting. He has been directing the MV for the German band Rammstein since the 90s. In 1998, he used extensively the editing footage of "Olympia" in the MV of Rammstein "Stripped". At that time, he was criticized for "revitalizing fascist aesthetics". "Nordwand" was also criticized by some fans for reviving "Nazi-contaminated genre". piece". I don't have much to say about this, because I think so too. I know everything the director wants to express, but emotionally, I think it is very fascist (non-derogatory).

Strong Uncle T

Another MV "Ohne dich" by Rammstein (German Tank) is a mountain movie in itself and highly recommended. I must say one more thing about Rmmstein. This is one of my favorite bands. Most non-German audiences think this band is a far-right band, because most of the performances of Chariots are really full of cold fascist aesthetics. The lead singer, Uncle T, was originally a swimmer of the East German national team. He was as strong as a bear, and he especially liked exposed flesh. He felt that he was a man who came out of the SS conscription poster. In tank concerts, they also like to play forward and shouting. They also like to set fires (Uncle T is a licensed professional fireworker). These elements make them particularly fascist. But if you can understand their lyrics, you will find that this band is actually a leftist band. The lyrics are extremely moving, they are quoted at every turn, and they play a lot of word games and multiple meanings. In fact, the first label in Germany is NDH (Neue Deutsche Welle, German New Wave), the third label is metal.

In fact, Rammstein has a funny soul

Moving on to the movie, the first challenge Stöltzl faced in "North Wall" was how to distinguish this movie from Dr. Fanck's mountain film. The charm of the lens language of the old mountain films lies in the semi-documentary style. Later, this style aesthetics was extremely successfully used by Riefenstahl in "Victory of Will" and "Olympia", becoming the representative of fascist lens aesthetics. With limited technology in the 1930s, the shooting of mountain films would undoubtedly bring great risks to actors and photographers. Stöltzl pointed out that Dr. Fanck's films are "stylized", and his films break the documentary style of mountain films in the 1930s. "Nordwand" does not have many real shots. Most of the shots use CGI technology. It is this kind of shooting method that breaks the lens language of mountain films. For example, some shots obviously appear in places where it is impossible to settle, so the two shots The language is completely different. But I have to say that the use of CGI technology in this movie is too successful, and it is actually difficult for ordinary viewers to recognize this.

The north face of the Eiger in reality is unimaginable without CGI

In addition, the interpretation of the film is not up to the director. "Nordwand" is undoubtedly full of nostalgia for the warmth of the 1930s, and even a sense of national pride in Bavaria (if not old Germany), and national pride and patriotism are normal things in other countries in Germany. Politically incorrect. In the documentary "The Making of Nordwand", Ulrich Tukur, who plays the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, expressed his views on the film with excitement:

These shoes are so beautiful! Want to want!

Those rough clothes, self-woven twine, simple and primitive climbing equipment, shining eyes, tanned brown faces, and short hairstyles, all of which are reminiscent of the old Germany. All in all, I really like all of this because mountaineering was so simple at that time without any complicated technology and equipment. On the contrary, it was purely based on muscle strength and human determination, with almost stupid and crazy courage. Can climb a mountain like Iger. It is the desire for honor and the desire for the unknown that mountaineers risked death to start this crazy adventure.

Not text, but texture

I believe most people will feel the same about Ulrich Tukur's remarks. One of the most fascinating aspects of this movie for me is that the props are very particular, like Nabokov's "Not text, but texture". Every time I watch this movie, I get so cold that I even start to collect old climbing equipment like rock nail locks and ice axes. This movie really touched the Nordic spirit in the nationality that the Germans did not want to mention. But the irony is that Tukur's role in the film is precisely a Berlin newspaper editor who shamelessly uses this spirit to achieve his goal of climbing through the adventures of others.

3. Motivation for mountaineering-national honor or self-sublimation?

All movies must have a motive, even all the protagonists in Marvel's comics adapted for special effects and science fiction movies have a motive. One of the main reasons why domestic films are often criticized for "not telling stories" is that the protagonist’s motives are ambiguous. The main responsibility lies with the screenwriter. The problem of "The Climber" has not been resolved, so I always like to open "Our Own Mountain". , I want to climb up." Just kidding. It is unrealistic to demand a lecture story when the inner core is unstable. The problem of motivation should be solved before the filming of the film, so most of the domestic films give me the feeling that someone from the special forces is drinking coffee and reading the newspaper, suddenly received a call, and then picked up the submachine gun and went to fight the terrorists. , It's strange not to be killed in this way.

Beautiful travel diary

The first shot of "Nordwand" was an old leather-bound diary, and then a woman's hand opened the diary. There was film on the table around the book, indicating that this hand belonged to a female photographer. The cover of the diary (only one or two seconds of footage) is decorated with metal edelweiss, which is a symbol of German mountain soldiers. All the notes in the diary can be traced back to the 1930s, detailing the mountaineering expedition of the author of this diary. There are black and white photos in the middle of the book. One photo shows the three protagonists of the film: Toni Kurtz, Andreas Hintersoisser and Luise Fellner, recording the happy time of the three people climbing the mountain together. The content of the last page of the diary stays in 1936.

I like this mountain climbing diary so much. I have always wanted to have a similar travel diary, but it is impossible because my writing is too ugly. Maybe I am better at writing German. The expedition diary of a mountaineer, in the hands of a female photographer, must have a story behind it, and this story is tragic. The two photos in the opening of the film actually give the motivation for climbing, climbing for oneself, for friendship, for love, and nothing else. And this motive is exactly where the dramatic conflict of the whole movie lies. The motives of Toni and Andi's mountaineering partners are actually different. Luise's understanding of mountaineering is also different from that of the two, but when all the dust settles, Luise faces the mountain. Have a different understanding of life.

Heroine, beauty

The next shot was in a crowded movie theater. This was 1936, the year the diary ended. News is being broadcast on the cinema screen. Two mountaineers who climbed the north face of the Eiger are missing, and they are apparently killed. This film used the news film of the year. In the film, the pilot Ernst Udet flew a small plane against the rock wall to find the dead mountaineer. This is a perfect tribute to the mountain film of the 1930s (this time can distinguish between tribute and tribute. The difference between plagiarism, plagiarism is plagiarism, tribute is tribute). The next shot is the movie audience illuminated by the flickering lights of the screen. There is a man in a Nazi uniform in the first row, confirming that the story took place in Nazi Germany. Then the heroine Luise appears. It is the girl in the photo in the diary. She has a typical Nande appearance. She is a black-haired, cute, but not beautiful girl next door.

Olympia stills, as if the torch was lit by the sun, beautiful

This news clip told the audience that two more climbers were killed while climbing the Eiger, and they were obviously not the first victims. Berne prohibits all Swiss from climbing the north face of the Eiger (yes, Bern is the capital of Switzerland, not Geneva). The ending of the news film asked the question "Can Berne prevent young Germans from challenging the Eiger?" The 1936 Berlin Olympics are about to open, so "we must conquer the last challenge of the Alps." This is a German news of a German cinema. Obviously, the Nazis The government is calling on the young people in Germany to meet this challenge. They gave the Germans the motivation for mountaineering, that is, for the motherland and for the Berlin Olympics.

Berchtesgaden, beauty

Then Luise had a meeting with news editors. Two Austrian mountaineers have decided to climb the North Wall. What about the Germans? Who can conquer the north wall is the biggest news hotspot nowadays. The editors know that two young mountaineers Andi and Toni in Berchtesgaden have the ability to challenge the north wall. So their childhood friend Luise was ordered to go to Berchtesgaden to interview and push her friends to challenge the North Wall.

Happy time brothers

Then there is the beautiful mountain scenery of the lovely Berchtesgaden. We can learn the personalities of the two people in the passage of Toni and Andi climbing the mountain. Toni is the calmer and calmer of the two, while Andi is more lively and bolder. When the two climbed to the top of the mountain, Toni focused on writing the diary that appeared in the opening title, while Andi was lying relaxed on the top of the mountain. We can see his arms dripping with blood during the climb just now. The two are really perfect climbing partners. . When they returned to the city, they met Luise who hadn't seen each other for a long time. In this passage, we know exactly that Luise and Toni are obviously emotional. Although everyone is a childhood friend, in Beijing speaking, it means "getting young", but there has been some estrangement, the estrangement between some Bavarian rural youth and the white-collar workers in big cities, and I prefer to understand it as the estrangement between Bavaria and Prussia. , This issue will be discussed later. So far, the film is only 1/4, but all the main elements of all German mountain movies have been fully explained, and the rest is how to subvert the mountain movies of the 1920s.

Berg Heil

Afterwards, the plot leveled off. Toni and Andi finally reached a consensus to climb the north wall after various runs. Toni is for Andi and Luise, in other words for friendship and love, and Andi is more like an agitated ambition An energetic mountaineer, his climbing is for Berlin. In his words, the North Wall is his "Road to Berlin". But Andi's role is also very childish. He is eager for honor, but he is not a marketer or a Nazi cudgel.

die

Luise's motives are much more complicated than those of the two mountaineers. She is actually closer to Andi in character, more enterprising, and wants to get ahead in Berlin. She didn't understand the risks of climbing, but she still wanted her lover Toni to try. Toni finally agreed to challenge the North Wall, of course there was her factor here. The image of the girl next door to Luise is undoubtedly a symbol of purity, and this pure Bavarian country girl is obviously polluted by Berlin, and is no longer as pure as the two "sons of the mountain". Toni undoubtedly loves Luise, and the relationship between the two makes Toni's climbing motives no longer pure, but the final tragic ending of the climbing purified the relationship between the two and Luise. One of the most moving moments of the movie is undoubtedly Toni found Luise the night before the climb and gave her the diary. At the end of the film, Luise witnessed Toni hanging to death on the north wall at close range. This scene was very impactful, but there was a kind of German restraint and not sensational. At this time, Luise wore mountaineering clothes to represent her soul returning to the mountains. Then this diary appeared at the beginning and end of the film. At the end of the film, we can see how this climb changed Luise's life. Of course, all of this is not the director’s original creation, but a perfect tribute from the German mountain film tradition.

Das Ewig-Weibliche Zieht uns hinan. The eternal female guides the human ascent. Of course, this woman refers to the Virgin Mary, but even a vulgar understanding is okay. Beauty is always a motive for men to rise, so some people can be called "goddess", but it is a pity that "beauties" and "goddesses" The words "talented girl" are all used up badly.

4. BergHeil? Sieg Heil? Nazi elements and de-Nazification of movies

Intellectually, I know very well that Nazi Germany is just a background in the film, which has nothing to do with the story itself, but emotionally, I constantly think of Nazi Germany. This feeling is very similar to rewatching the old mountain movies of the 1920s and 30s. In fact, the early mountain movies were shot before the Nazis came to power. You can say that he is very German, but you can't say that these movies have fascist aesthetics. Fascists have not yet come to power. How can you talk about fascist aesthetics? But when this visual style is carried forward by Riefenstahl, it is difficult for this style to decouple from the so-called fascist aesthetics, and it is difficult for works of this style to exist alone.

Mussolini, who is always reasonable, said that "the so-called fascism is first of all a kind of beauty." You said that if this fat guy didn't become some kind of prime minister, it would be great to be a minister of culture or something.

The identity of mountaineers: Toni and Andi started off with decent careers. Yes, they were soldiers of the mountain brigade, the predecessor of the first mountain division who conquered Elbrus. The first time the two showed up was cleaning the toilet in the barracks. The chief was not satisfied with the two thorns who love to climb mountains. The climb to the north wall did not receive any support from the army or the country, and the two lost their jobs after being scolded by the sergeant chief. Austrian mountaineers are also mountain soldiers, but they have received state funding, but the so-called funding is to reimburse the ticket and buy a better rope, which is still very different from the national system. Therefore, as a mountaineer, "Nordwand" has completed the "de-Nazification". Of course, there are many people in uniforms in each segment of the film, but they are more of a background and have nothing to do with the narrative. They are more to restore the style of German cities in the 1930s.

Eagle's Nest, there is no way to be beautiful

Berchtesgaden: The story takes place in Berchtesgaden, a small town only 20 kilometers away from Salzburg, Austria, with a population of 8,000. It is currently a tourist attraction. What is the most famous monument? Ha ha is the eagle's nest of the head of state. The Eagle’s Nest is a gift from Bowman to the Führer’s 50th birthday. It is a hilltop villa overlooking the Alps. Although the Nazis are corrupt, this kind of flattery is really hard to disgust. I don't know where it is higher than a few trucks of cash. You are the emperor, so don't use a golden hoe. Why does the head of state like Berchtesgaden? Because he is an Austrian and a native of Salzburg. I believe that when the head of state overlooks the Alps in the eagle's nest, the popular country folk song "Take me home, country road", "mountain mama" or something will sound in his mind. This point can't help but remind people of the Nazis. There is no way. When I write this, I am excited to be like Dr. Qi Ai Sieg heil!

Newspaper reporter: Newspaper reporter is an interesting role. As a Chinese, "Berlin Zeitung" can’t make me think of "People’s Daily" or "Global Times". But in all fairness, such people are in all ages. It’s not a big problem to change this role to a reporter from Der Spiegel who beats and scolds every day. What makes him annoying is not the Nazi background, but the sharp contrast between his character and the character of the mountaineers. This is not so much a critique of Nazi ideology as a critique of urbanization. Of course, there are many plots in the movie. For example, wealthy businessmen and reporters drank champagne and ate cakes in an elegant hotel, while mountaineers were frozen in the mountains. They did express a certain kind of criticism, but they were all personal choices. This is the same in every era.

Austria and Germany. Bavaria is a magical place in Germany. I stayed in Germany for more than 10 years and got a Ph.D. I moved from North Germany to Munich for employment. I still don't understand the Bavarian accent. Bavaria believes in Catholicism as much, while the evil Prussia is Protestant. Although they belong to Christianity, they don’t agree with each other. Before the formation of the nation-state, religion was more important than nationality. Bavarians and Austrians are much closer than Bavarians and North Germans. The national costumes are the same. They wear trousers, leather shorts and long socks, and they both sing the Jodel (German folk song, a divine song that can easily extinguish the uneasy), and the accent is different. It's not that big either. It is also an interesting story that Bavaria merged into Germany instead of Austria in history, so they did not favor Berlin. In the second half of the climb, the German-Austrian Mountaineering Team found the dead German mountaineer's body on the mountain. Everyone worked together to dig out the body, gave a simple mass, and then threw the body down from the mountain. , Two days later, they will also face the fate of death. This section is also very touching but not sensational. In addition, we also see the cultural connection between Bavaria and Austria. The landlord of Prussian Junker in Berlin is the villain. . The subtitles at the end of the movie show that in 1938, the German and Austrian joint mountaineering team finally reached the top of the north wall along the route of Toni and Andi in 1936. Mountaineers Anderl Heckmair, Ludwig Vörg, Heinrich Harrer and Fritz Kasparek were from Germany and Austria, but they were the same as the climb in 1936. The two groups started to climb separately, halfway through the climb and began to form a team. The Nazis took this climb as a symbol of the German-Austrian merger, but we all know that it has nothing to do with mountaineering.

end

A few years have passed since the tragedy of the North Wall at the end of the movie. At this time, Luise was living in New York and was a photographer. Luise’s narrator told the audience that “one who loved and lived.” Obviously the North Wall’s influence on her Still exist. Luise is a bit older, but not particularly old, so it can be inferred that the time is the end of the 1940s. There are saxophone records in the room. This is precisely the "degenerate music" that the Nazis did not like. These scenes all imply that Luise has escaped from Nazi Germany. . Mountain movies, heroines, photographers, how can people think of Riefenstahl, as a pivotal tycoon in the history of film, she has never escaped the label of the Nazis in her life.

The hero is dying in such a beautiful night

I only started climbing in 2018. I especially regret not joining Shanying Club when I was in college. I only liked everything related to mountains when I started climbing, including mountain movies of course. Although this mountain may not be a challenge like the North Face of Iger or Mount Everest, every climber has to face the question of when to give up. Mountain climbing is through self-challenge to bring self-sublimation, so many people push themselves to the limit, and the limit leads to death.

As the Swiss railwaymen said in the movie, Eiger, Ogre (human-eating monster), this is an ominous mountain, and too many people fall on this mountain. But I believe that all the mountaineers who died on the mountain got what they wanted. The piton can't bear the weight of three people, so cut the rope with one knife, and there is no "goodbye friend". In mountain movies, the fate of death is not a tragedy, but a self-selection. It is the choice that makes the free soul of mountaineers.

View more about North Face reviews

Extended Reading
  • Shana 2022-04-24 07:01:22

    love is the reason to live

  • Magnus 2022-03-18 09:01:06

    Unreliable subtitles, I am confused, 101012

North Face quotes

  • [first lines]

    [in German, quoting English subtitles]

    Luise Fellner: [voiceover] When you're at the bottom - Toni once told me - at the foot of the wall, and you look up, you ask yourself: How can anyone climb that? Why would anyone even want to? But hours later when you're at the top looking down, you've forgotten everything. Except the one person you promised you would come back to.

  • [last lines]

    [in German, quoting English subtitles]

    Luise Fellner: [voiceover] All I know is that death spared me, and that Toni went away forever that day. One has lived if one has loved. There are times when I find this infinitely hard to believe. Most days I feel that I am alive. And that love is the reason for that.