Heimat is something different. Very different.
Don't go into this 15-hour epic with any preconceptions or prejudices. This is NOT in the hollywood fashion. This is German storytelling - a story about a village in Germany, told in the German film tradition. It's engaging and above all - different. And it's brilliant for that.
This is NOT a soap. This is a film sliced into 11 parts. Its span and reach are epic in proportions, a view of the human condition seen through many eyes and from many perspectives over time. Really very good indeed.
The story centres on the life of Maria Simon and the world that revolves around her from 1919 to 1982. No spoilers here.
At times the camera work, especially in black & white, is breathtaking - as good as anything you'll see. But the main features are the individuals and their interactions. They and their relationships are products of their traditions and cultural history - the history of Hunsrück. This thing is deep - a social history. I loved it.
By now Heimat is lost television. I missed it when it first came out in 1984. We don't seem to do things like this any more, and in particular, we don't construct and tell stories like this any more. Pity. By today's standards it's slow, real slow, but that doesn't matter as slowness and 'unchangingness' are all an essential part of this.
Watch Heimat - but take your time...
Don't go into this 15-hour epic with any preconceptions or prejudices. This is NOT in the hollywood fashion. This is German storytelling - a story about a village in Germany, told in the German film tradition. It's engaging and above all - different. And it's brilliant for that.
This is NOT a soap. This is a film sliced into 11 parts. Its span and reach are epic in proportions, a view of the human condition seen through many eyes and from many perspectives over time. Really very good indeed.
The story centres on the life of Maria Simon and the world that revolves around her from 1919 to 1982. No spoilers here.
At times the camera work, especially in black & white, is breathtaking - as good as anything you'll see. But the main features are the individuals and their interactions. They and their relationships are products of their traditions and cultural history - the history of Hunsrück. This thing is deep - a social history. I loved it.
By now Heimat is lost television. I missed it when it first came out in 1984. We don't seem to do things like this any more, and in particular, we don't construct and tell stories like this any more. Pity. By today's standards it's slow, real slow, but that doesn't matter as slowness and 'unchangingness' are all an essential part of this.
Watch Heimat - but take your time...