"Heimat - Eine deutsche Chronik" (1984) TV mini-series

User Rating:

9.1/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

31 March 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The series (11 episodes) tells the story of the village Schabbach, on the Hunsrueck in Germany through the years 1919-1982...

Plot Keywords:

Village | Garden | 1950s | Land | Eating

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Marita Breuer	...	Maria Simon (11 episodes, 1984)
Eva Maria Schneider	...	Marie-Goot (11 episodes, 1984)
Kurt Wagner	...	Glasisch Karl (11 episodes, 1984)
Rüdiger Weigang	...	Eduard Simon (11 episodes, 1984)
Johannes Lobewein	...	Alois Wiegand (10 episodes, 1984)
Karin Rasenack	...	Lucie Hardtke (10 episodes, 1984)
Eva Maria Bayerwaltes	...	Pauline (9 episodes, 1984)
Gertrud Bredel	...	Katharina / ... (9 episodes, 1984)
Hans-Jürgen Schatz	...	Wilfried Wiegand (9 episodes, 1984)
Johannes Metzdorf	...	Pieritz (8 episodes, 1984)
Wolfram Wagner	...	Maethes-Pat (7 episodes, 1984)
Helga Bender	...	Martina (6 episodes, 1984)
Willi Burger	...	Mathias / ... (6 episodes, 1984)
Arno Lang	...	Robert Kröber (6 episodes, 1984)
Alexander Scholz	...	Hänschen (6 episodes, 1984)
Sabine Wagner	...	Martha Simon (6 episodes, 1984)
Jörg Hube	...	Otto Wohlleben (5 episodes, 1984)

Also Known As:

"Heimat"
"Homeland: A German Chronicle" (literal English title)
"Hjemstavn" (Denmark) [da]
"Kotiseutu" (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

9 min (11 episodes)

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German | English | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:7 | UK:15 | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Bundenbach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Company:

Edgar Reitz Film (ERF)

Goofs:

Continuity: In the narration at the beginning of "Das Fest der Lebenden und der Toten" we are told that Pauline died in 1979. However on the family tree the date is listed as 1975. This is confirmed when Hermann visits the grave and the date on the tombstone is 1975.

Movie Connections:

References Heimat (1938)

A masterpiece

I can only echo the preceding comments: See this film. I would add some ifs, however: See this film if you appreciate good direction, consistently solid acting, and discriminating characterizations; if you savour cultural subtleties; if you find 20th-century European history fascinating; if you think the dynamics of community life have much to tell about the human condition; if you've ever wondered what it meant to be German in the 1920s, '30s, & '40s (although the film covers 1919-1982); if you can't quite understand how Nazism could have gained acceptance and then pre-eminence in a northern German village far removed from Berlin and full of the usual diverse personalities; if you want to put a human face on the monolithic histories about war and propaganda; and if your attention span is longer than that required by the average Hollywood production (the film runs to something like 16 hours, in 9 videocassettes).

Heimat is a superb cinematic chronicle of social and political change in human enterprise, a Bildungsroman of a community. You will not forget it.