Opening 14 Jan 2010
Directed by:
Joseph Vilsmaier
Writing credits:
Michael Rentsch
Principal actors:
Florian Stetter, Andreas Tobias, Karl Markovics
Nanga Parbat is a documentary by Joseph Vilsmaier (Comedian Harmonists) that tells the exciting story of the first men to successfully climb Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas. The goal is reached but the fact that the team does not stick together causes tragedy.
Reinhold and Günther Messner dream of climbing the 8000-meter Nanga Parbat while still children in Tyrol. Later on they are the first to reach the peaks of the Dolomites. When Dr. Karl Maria Herrligkoffer plans an expedition to climb the highest steep face on earth, Reinhold Messner (Florian Stetter) is accepted as a member of the group and he takes along his brother Günther (Andreas Tobias) even though Günther hasn't climbed seriously since the Dolomites. The expedition faces obstacles from the start: first finances and then the personality differences among the men involved in the climb. The horribly rough weather is then the worst. When the climb should have been cancelled, Reinhold breaks out on his own to reach the peak. Günther follows without permission and without proper gear. And, although the peak is reached, Günther's death during the descent removes any joy from the successful accomplishment.
The mountain scenes – from South Tyrol to Pakistan – are so majestic and awesome that there are hardly words to describe them. (Thelma Freedman)
