A thrilling tale of mountaineering derring-do with camerawork to match. Set in 1936 and based on a true story, Philipp Stolzl�s drama focuses on a bid by two climbers to be the first to scale the north face of the Eiger, known among mountaineers, for good and grisly reasons, as �the murder wall�.

Star rating: ***
Dir: Philipp Stolzl
With: Benno Furmann, Florian Lukas, Johanna Wokalek

A THRILLING tale of mountaineering derring-do with camerawork to match. Set in 1936 and based on a true story, Philipp Stolzl's drama focuses on a bid by two climbers to be the first to scale the north face of the Eiger, known among mountaineers, for good and grisly reasons, as "the murder wall".

Toni Kurz (Benno Furmann) and Andreas Hinterstoisser (Florian Lukas) are the pair of country boys interested in nothing more than getting to the top, but their expedition attracts the attention of a Berlin government keen to trumpet German supremacy.

As the media, including Andreas's old girlfriend (Johanna Wokalek), arrive in Switzerland to cover the story, the odds between triumph and tragedy are about even.

There are a couple of long stretches to endure, but breathtaking camerawork by Stolzl and his team, and a solid cast, including the ever impressive Ulrich Tukur (The Lives of Others), help things along immeasurably.

Check out the low-tech kit used by Kurz and Hinterstoisser and shiver.

Filmhouse, Edinburgh