"The Mountain, a Markus Imhoof film" "On 9 October 1921, Jetzeler, the weather observer, was struck by lightning and went mad." "Every day he had telegraphed his observations from the top of the mountain to Zurich, from where they were relayed to Rome, Paris, Berlin and Vienna." "Winter will soon cut off the station from the lowlands." "The rescue team is still on its way, yet 32 candidates have already applied for the dangerous post." "Be seated." "Gentlemen, many of you have proven to be outstandingly qualified." "However, we feel that it is necessary to advertise the post again." "The Meteorological Institute cannot risk a repetition of Mr Jetzeler's tragic fate." "We want the isolated station to be manned by a married couple." "I was going to get married anyway." "Manser, Joseph." "Spinning-mill mechanic, unemployed." "A woman has no business above the tree line." "As a mountain guide, I speak from experience." "Gentlemen!" "Thank you." "May I congratulate you, lieutenant?" "The new observer will buy the next round." " Who is he?" " The Austrian from the hotel." " Never seen him before." " No matter." "The damn bloody bastards!" "Chose a foreigner, of course." "Gentlemen!" "To wedded bliss!" "You sure showed them, Kreuzpointner!" "They think women are lightning rods." "To the winners!" " When's the next train?" " Up or down the valley?" "To America." " They've got mountains there, too." " And broads!" "They've got something going." "I can marry you now. I've got a job!" "Last week you told me to jump off a chair so I'd lose the brat." " Lena, do heights make you dizzy?" " You sure don't!" "Come on, give her a real one, Manser!" "Shall we congratulate you for getting married or for getting the mountain?" "Now all that is above you is the Lord." "Good luck to you." "Your boat's leaving." "Can't afford a hotel, but wants to go to America." "It'll be cold up there." "That's enough." "Come on, Manser!" "All of Europe is waiting for your weather." "Grab her!" "Up she goes!" "Quiet!" "Look this way!" "Don't move!" "They're bringing Jetzeler." " They've found him." " ln a cave, they said." "Your predecessor, son." "Take me down, Manser." "I've got you!" "Damn!" "Lena!" "Nobody'll climb up here in winter." "Not even a doctor." "Do you think we made a mistake, Lena?" "You should have watched out at the fair!" "One barrel of dried fish... one of cured meat..." "Milk, condensed..." "Powdered cocoa..." "You like that, don't you?" "We might catch something live, too." "See you again in May." " Are you cold?" " No, no." "Always a little." "You've brought scissors along..." "And at least I know how to tie a knot." "I guess it's better than all the gossiping in the village." "You think we packed enough to last us until April or May?" "It smells of snow." "I'm scared." "Just hang on to me. I'll walk in front." "Manser!" "Wait!" "Come on!" " lt's sucking me down." " Well, don't look!" "Take the stuff up first." "It's coming. lt'll only get worse." "Go!" "Come on, will you!" "How can I help it if we hit the jackpot?" "You'll never get me over there." "I'll just close my eyes." "Lena!" "We're taking off!" "Let's go, I'm cold." "0.5 to 5 m/sec." "Force 1, west-southwest." "And now the weather:" "Zurich, cloudy, +3?" "." "Rome, sunny +7?" "Paris, snow, +2?" ", Berlin, rain, +5?" "," "Vienna, overcast, 0?" "." "And finally, as usual, Europe's highest weather station..." "Watch out!" "You're getting nice and plump!" "As if you'd been snitching the bread." "I didn't touch it." "I like you that way." "Let's telegraph the weather first." "You?" "Who else?" "Silly bitch!" "Someone's on his way up here." "For a visit, I bet!" "I saw him!" "Let him come." "That'll be fun!" "You'll quit laughing soon enough." "It's the snow, Manser." "It gets you down." "Aren't you going to ask who it is?" "Who is it?" " The other guy." " Are you nuts?" "You can't see a thing now. lt's snowing." "Who did you say it was?" "The Austrian... the officer, stupid." "He's already in America." "He's jealous." "He wanted my job." "You saw the show he put on in the pub." "Watch out, Manser." "You'll end up like Jetzeler." "They'd never have taken a foreigner." "Everybody said so." "He'll never make it in this weather." "What's got into you?" "Two, four, six..." "Nine, ten, twelve... I didn't take anything!" "Nine, ten, twelve." "There!" "Survival means dividing up." "Count... and divide." "I need 1 2 more beans." "The lieutenant might be here by the time the water's boiling." "The bastard!" "Or was I so stupid to leave it open?" "So you are afraid of the visitor." "Nobody's down there, Manser, is there?" "You just wanted to scare me." "They're just laying." "Look!" " They'll never believe it down there." " The worse for us." "If he bivouacs on the ridge tonight, we'll be rid of him." "You think he'll sleep in the snow?" "Ascent in winter: impossible." "Beg you to" "refrain from joking." "Central Institute."" "They'll be saying the wife is no help, either." "Brat!" " What are you doing?" " Nothing!" "Do you see him?" "He's hanging on the rock face." " He'll freeze to death." " Would you rather he was up here?" "I have to get him." "Where are my shoes?" "Give them to me!" "You know what he'll do to us..." "My shoes!" "Give me my shoes, God damn it!" "If anything happens to you, I'll be alone with the baby." "The mountains have different laws." "You'll regret it." "Come on!" "Shithead!" "Asshole!" "Goddamned..." "Austrian!" "Just you wait..." "Fucking... idiot!" " What are you doing with my gear?" " Nothing." " Give him your chair." " Why me?" "Get the brandy." "Kreuzpointner!" "Drink!" "You should've left him." "Drink!" "We won't give him any grub." "An Italian overture, I think." "One of those forgotten ones that only resort orchestras play these days." "The war was lost... and the Kaiser..." "Everything, really." "But fiddlers... still had to make a living." "My mother used to play that tune on the piano, four-handed." "With a distant relative." "I'm afraid I never got that far." "To be a partner." "And play four-handed pieces." "Then, suddenly, Rihoschek walks up to me." "Actually, I wanted to tell you about him." "He saved my life." "In the Dolomites?" "No, afterwards, in the military hospital." "An excellent soup, Mrs Manser." "Careful, he understands Swiss German." "He was a mountain guide at the hotel." " Only for two summers." " See?" "Rihoschek had principles: he called all women Gorgons." " What?" " Shut up and stuff your gob!" "In any case, I was the first to conquer this devil in winter." "And who got you out of the rock face?" "The first winter conquest." "Prove that you can go down in winter, too!" "Where are your manners?" "Your whole foot should've frozen off!" "A woman has no say in the mountains." "They chose him because of me, his wife." "That's just it!" "He's tricked them into giving him the post." "I'm taking over." "Good!" "You can start right now!" "Shovel a path to the tower!" "He's actually doing it!" "You wanted the mountain, so you took me." "I could have got somebody else." "You take anybody that comes along." "And I was stupid enough to fall for that fatty." " Watch out!" " You said Zurich!" "A streetcar conductor." "You said they had a job for you." "I didn't go to the fair with you to freeze my ass off up here." "But you said yes real quick..." "To get a father for your brat." "The whole village pawed you." " Him probably too, for all I know." " l'll kill you." "Northeast, 0.5 to 5 m/sec." " What...?" " The wind." "Direction and force." "Can't be." "You haven't cleared all the snow." "Go and look!" "And now I'm going to wire the name of the real winner." "Dead." "Use your eyes, you idiot!" "The ice has weighed down the cable." "Some weather observer you are!" "And now take down the wire." " Take it down." " l am doing!" "Forever yours." "How will the wire get up there again?" "It's too short now." "It won't go back up." "Snow insulates." "It's what we did during the war." "And now the world will hear of the first winter conquest." "You don't exist!" "That's what the Institute wired us." "The trouble is, he doesn't exist, but... he eats." "We only have provisions for two." "Yes, Mrs Manser." "There's one mouth too many." "Do you hear?" "The storm." "The howling." "Don't tell me you feel sorry for him." "What if he breaks down the door?" "We tied him up good." "Now his toes will really freeze off." "He'll make a good stiff, the bastard." "He's in America." "Nobody'll miss him." "Are you still alive?" "He can cross the ridge when he's better!" "You want him to climb down and tell them we wanted to do him in?" "Don't worry, Manser." "I won't tell on you." "I'm in America, remember?" "In spring, people in the village will think you both fell to your death." "Because of the thin air at 3,000 metres." "lntoxicating heights." "You'll leave tomorrow." "Not until you've amputated my toes." "See?" "Then you go!" "With the baby?" "!" "Where did you get that?" "Don't worry, it isn't loaded." "It's Sunday down there." "The bells are ringing." "Don't you hear them?" "Right up to here!" "Out with it." "Where did you hide the pistol?" "I threw it over the cliff." "If it keeps snowing like this..." "As much flour as usual." "Fresh snow: 25 cm." "They're building the cable car." "Wind force 2." "Velocity: 5 to 9.5 m/sec." "Or if an airplane came..." "Or a balloon." "Yes, yes, the thin air." "Direction: west-northwest." "Stupid games!" "Give me that!" "Nothing left." "The cigarettes, too." "is it letting up?" "The snow?" "Now it's easy to see the tracks, to see if there are any hares." " Get my gun." " With my hands in the dough?" "Get dressed." "We're going." "What can HE do to me?" "Which do you prefer: macaroni or stewed peaches?" "You must know where he's hidden my cigarettes." "Like a girl waiting for her date." "I never imagined that a weather station could look so cosy." "You know what I like about you?" "I thought a woman had no say in the mountains?" "You accept a compliment as naturally as if you were told you had five fingers on one hand." "Or five toes on one foot." "In the Prater, I always knew which couples were married and which couples were lovers." "I'm married." " Have you got a pin?" " Why?" "Please." "Why did you come up here?" "I suppose, if one weren't so alone, these things wouldn't happen." "We learnt this in the trenches." "It's a pity I didn't come to the pub more often." "I'm not even listening." "Oh, yes, you are." "You'd have come here with me too?" "You still owe me for the round of brandy." " All twelve." " So you didn't forget me after all." "Look." "Manser will never notice." "Stop it!" "Life isn't all that long." "You should've thought about that before." "There's something wrong." "The clock." "About what time is it?" "Nine, maybe." "It must be at least ten." "Ten to nine." "I don't believe it." "I want to go home." "Own up." "What?" "Don't play dumb!" "While I was outside..." " The things you think of..." " Tell me." "Do you hear?" "Do you hear me?" " Out with it!" " Stop it!" "Tell me or I'll smack you with the pelt." "Nothing happened!" "Nothing happened!" "Nothing happened!" "Okay, you asked for it!" "In the spring, he's taking me to America." "I'm leaving tomorrow." "Close the window!" "It's all your fault." "Lena!" "Fry six eggs." "Do you hear?" " There's only five left." " They'll lay again." " They all suffocated." " The key!" "Manser, carry me outside." "Carry me..." "Shit in your pants." "Carry me outside!" "He tried to strangle me, the bastard." "Manser... are you sure I didn't father your baby?" "What's he saying?" "Crap." "All five for you." "For the baby." "I said, for the baby." "The rest too." "I beg you..." "Eat!" "It's not true what he says." " Then prove to me who the father is." " lt was with you, Manser, at the fair." "Tomorrow, I'm going to lop off his toes." " Close the shutters." " So we can't see anything at all?" "You want the snow to bust the windows?" "Hurry up!" "They want to know what our weather is like!" "You know how to hold a man." "Lena, where's your grub?" "Do they tingle... your lopped off toes?" "In the military hospital, they called it phantom limb pain." "Does it tingle..." "Lieutenant Kreuzpointner, sir." " lt tingles." " See, you can croak if you want." "It tingles." "You can croak like a real human being." "The last one." "No more booze." "The end of the booze and the end of us." "She said she'd got rid of the pistol." "The cable car!" "The cable car!" "Look, there's Manser." " There's a kid." " Lena!" "With a baby!" " lf we'd known that..." " He sure had us fooled." "Hey, Manser!" "Remember me?" " See that?" " ls it a boy?" "I hate to think of what could have happened up there." "A summit baby." "She wasn't showing at the wedding." "What's little Manser's name?" "A good thing we sent his replacement up without a wife." "We're going to America, me and Manser." "I wonder if she knows the father?" "That's not my son!" "That's not my son!" "That's not my son!" "A storm's coming." "I wish I'd been tried in court and hanged." "Another 4 or 5 days to New York." "One day, my son will own a cable car." "Look, son, the mountains."