Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 08:58:53 -0000
From: "Ivan Mansley" <ivanman dsl.pipex.com>
"Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground." [Alexander Pope: Ode on Solitude c.1700]
HEIMAT Part 10: DIE STOLZEN JAHRE 1967-9 [The Proud Years]
The word "proud" in the title puzzled me at first, and maybe still does. I came to feel that the adjective referred to the German economic miracle and the ability of the country to look forward not backwards. This is perhaps symbolised by the removal of the war memorial at the end of the episode, enabling the school bus to turn without reversing, as Glasisch points out. Other villages have already done the same as Schabbach and voices murmur: "Thank God that thing's going" and "About time too." Ernst is proud of the business he has set up and resentful that his brother, Anton, has never visited, but it is the story of Anton that is central to this episode and it is his campaign to save his business that makes his wife, Martha, twice exclaim, "I am proud of you", and ultimately makes us proud of him too. Anton is a man who knows his "heimat" and heroically struggles to save it. Reitz very cleverly turns the man who was an autocratic bully in the last episode into an eloquent and unlikely hero. I shall return to this. I am interested in other ways in which the title appears relevant to all of you.
Let me confess, and this is the direst heresy, that at times I found this episode a little hard-going. It seemed to lack emotional intensity and involvement. This might partly be because of an air of melancholy that hangs in the air. Times are changing! I have an abiding image of modern machines, large motor cars, telex machines clattering in the night, Ernst asset stripping the old farmhouses of the Hunsruck, the old order and certitudes shattered, new electronic music, multi-nationals, the selling of the family cow and so on and so on. But cometh the hour, cometh the man! A man for all seasons! Anton! I would like to consider his story and his role further because his role in this episode has so much to say about the central theme of the whole film; the concept of "heimat".
The episode begins with two large limousines, initially lost, gliding along the forest roads outside Schabbach. They are representatives of a multi-national corporation which seeks to take-over Anton's business. They are outsiders; one of them Flemish, I think. There appears on the road in front of one of the cars, a huge stag, carrying enormous antlers. "What a peculiar place!" exclaims one of the men. I see Anton as the stag; a stag at bay! He will be no easy catch! He is offered 60 million [Deutsche Marks?] but asks for time to reflect. He takes his wife's advice and decides to consult his father, Paul, who it turns out is no longer in the States but in Baden-Baden. We know not why. Decisively, Anton decides to drive there and we have the camera paying great attention to the speed and opulence of his car and the modernity of the autobahn and its different exits. At his father's hotel there is an interesting scene at the reception desk. The receptionist is explaining to Anton how to find the broadcasting studios where Paul has gone, when they are both interrupted by a man, who I took to be an American tourist [at any rate speaking English], who demands his concert tickets. Earlier, when Willi Brandt had switched on the new national colour TV system Anton had exclaimed "typically American" and looked distinctly unimpressed at the fare on offer. Now he has his anti-American feelings further fuelled by the man's impatience. Another outsider! And then, to cap it all, he finds his father ensconced in a recording studio, dressed in a flamboyant Miami-type beach shirt and later a baseball hat.
Anton is treated very shabbily by his father who really has no time for his own son, but is completely besotted by his new darling, Hermann, "a very clever boy". Later he has to be reminded that Anton is waiting to speak to him and his response is "My God, Mr. Anton, I'd forgotten him". Anton is made to feel an outsider by his semi-American father. Paul's advice is shallow and dismissive. He is full of himself and his own vainglorious ambitions. In his imagination he says he can see the plaque at the university of Karlsruhe reading: "To our benefactor, Paul Simon, the pioneer of electronic sound installations." His vanity knows no bounds: "Look at me", he says at one point, and you know that is his real motivation for helping Hermann, which has come as a complete surprise to us. He has sold up and advises Anton so to do, asking for almost double the amount offered, but in a semi-mocking, almost unfriendly way. Anton, bewildered and angry, decides to leave. Later he tells Martha: "Typical American. He's playing trains with Hermann and is never at home." He follows this with a very significant remark which I shall return to.
Anton leaves the hotel in the middle of the night and returns to the Hunsruck in the light of a beautiful summer dawn. There follows a very moving scene; for me, anyway. Anton stops the car, a cock is crowing to welcome the day, and he has a bite to eat and looks out over the beautiful Rhineland landscape. The camera lingers on a field of growing wheat and on the sunlight on Anton's face. Anton knows and understands his roots. He does not have to travel to find his "heimat"; it is right there in front of him and within him. I was immensely moved by this. Anton has made his decision. He tells Martha, after declaring that Paul is "never at home", that "A man must know where he's at home. At least we know it." He calls his workers to a meeting in the meadow, reminding Lotti not to forget Karl [Glasisch] in the boiler room. Anton has a care for all his workers and remembers small details. Glasisch is obviously a man of many talents, as in the last episode, we saw him as a kind of night watchman. Anton has found work for him.
We have seen him as a model employer ever since the concert party. He then delivers a wonderful call to arms, rejects the buy-out offer, flatters and praises his workers, and makes a plea for mutual trust. Anton is eloquent and moving. He has found a voice and I am sure Reitz is endorsing it. He uses this voice to good effect when he finds Ernst in their mother's attic. He has seen straight through Ernst's meretricious business and his rapacious methods. He accuses him of having no soul, of selling off his history, his youth, his traditions, of leaving nothing to any future generations. "You haven't a spark of culture under your dirty fingernails. I have always wanted to tell you that." How I loved those words! Anton is now a man with a mission; no stag at bay, but a man with new strength and belief. Great!
What else should I mention? I noticed many echoes of earlier scenes. When Pauline arrives at Maria's house with Robert's hidden money, we are reminded of the scene after the cinema, when the two ladies were confiding in each other and having a drink. "We ought to be content", says Maria but we know they are not! Do they still intend to go to America, even though Paul is not there? I ask this because later we see the cow being removed with a couple of hefty smacks to the head! We see Ernst entering the family home [his mother is asleep] moving from the forge to the attic in a similar manner to Paul's entry earlier. It makes it seem like an intrusion. "Our house is a treasure trove." I take it that it was Ernst also, flying over the war memorial at the end, as it is winched away. We are reminded of Ernst's earlier flight and the dropping of the red carnations at Anton's proxy wedding. It is, perhaps, through these echoes of earlier, happy times that
Edgar Reitz adds to the feeling of change and time passing.
A few words about Hermann. I think my favourite Hermann is Jorg Richter in the last episode. Peter Harting in this one, with his beard and dark glasses, and moody stares, felt unconvincing or perhaps too much of a departure from the previous incarnation. Glasisch's response to the music was interesting, wasn't it? He is awakened and fulfilled and haunted by it. He can hear the nightingales better than the middle-class critic at the actual performance. He hears a stream conveyed by the sound of the music. He exclaims: "Hermann, where did you get it all?... So foreign and so beautiful, as if from other lands." Who would have thought he had such a sensitive soul! Oh, another echo! As a kind of coda we see Hermann visit his mother with two girl-friends in the summer of 1969, en route from Paris to Berlin he says. [Remember the French horsewoman from Part 1, was it?]. He is travelling in an endeavour to find his "heimat", unlike his half-brother, Anton, who has found his. Enough! Enjoy!
Ivan Mansley.
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 14:24:46 +0100
From: Bradnsj aol.com
Thanks once again to Ivan for a very detailed intro.
Yes, the TWO cars in the forest - what happened to the other one after they split up? Did it arrive at Schabbach also, and I missed it?
I was very taken with Ernst's first appearance in this episode. He drives in his VW with its sunroof as if he is in the cockpit of his plane; looking all about him as if he is hunting for other victims. Not aircraft this time, but gullible, naive Hunsrückers. He really has no compassion or feeling for the good things of his Heimat, only what he can make out of it.
I really took exception to this 'new' Paul. Why is he short-changing Anton but pandering to Hermann? Yes, Ivan, I think you're right, he's just thinking about posterity; imagining the latest plaque on the wall! Why didn't Paul even tell people he was in Germany? Surely, if, as we suspect and if the gossip is true, Paul did give Anton money to help with the start-up costs of the factory, then you would think he would want to visit and keep his eye on his investment. Does Anton still owe Paul anything? Perhaps not, as there is no mention in the conversation over whether to sell up or not. What a surprise that Paul had sold up, himself. Is Anton dismayed because Paul is spending the proceeds on Hermann rather than leaving it in his will?
Is it a generational thing (because of the age gap) that Anton works hard to make money out of his ideas, but Hermann needs money to make his ideas work?
I too enjoyed Anton's return journey. You could really feel his pride, but also a little apprehension. The camera work from different perspectives. I especially enjoyed the sequence where the camera runs parallel to Anton and then gets ahead at the fork in the road.
Ernst's ideas on the faking of things seem very modern, even for 1984, let alone 1967. Also his ideas on quality - almost Japanese.
Ernst's business is all about the new convenience versus the old traditions. We see this in the houses and the cow that's "too much trouble".
I was touched by Glasisch's reaction to the music on the radio, but thought a little simplistic an image on the part of Reitz. I know the point he's trying to make, that Glasisch, the 'idiot savant', is the only one who can 'hear' the music. The irony is that we don't know whether he gets the chance to tell Hermann, or even whether Hermann would take any notice, if he did...
That's all for now.
Neil
Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 21:53:06 +0100
From: Thomas Hönemann <Th.Hoenemann t-online.de>
Dear Ivan, Neil, Reinder and others,
Ivan, let me first thank you again for your brilliant analysis of Part 10 of Heimat. Yes, we are approaching the end of this first part. Here are some comments on Ivans and Neils thoughts and questions:
Ivan wrote:
> Let me confess, and this is the direst heresy, that at times I found this
> episode a little hard-going. It seemed to lack emotional intensity and
> involvement.
Yes, that is what I feel, too. But this is really no wonder: after having seen and discussed the most emotional episode, Hermännchen, the intensity of emotinality just has to decrease, one could say, for mathematical reasons. But even though there is one scene which is very emotinal in my eyes, not from its direct content, but from its meaning: Without knowing before we have to say goodbye to two characters I really love very much, this is Eduard and Pieritz. We see them both at night, standing in front of Ernsts Helicopter, and talking about their good old times, about searching for gold, about the plane that landed on their field, and while talking about this we all can recognise how sentimental and even final this scene is. While watching the scene I really feel like loosing very good friends, and they in fact will never appear again, at least not in the real live (see episode 11 to understand what I mean with this ...).
[After having read this again I recognised that the scene I was talking about could already have been a part of episode 9!? Nevertheless, nobody mentioned it before... .]
Yes, the appearances of Ernst and Paul, even Hermann are very strange. They have left the Hunsrück, all emotionally, or even practically. They seem like outsiders wich do not fit in the story, in the rythm of peoples lifes in Hunsrück.
Ivan wrote:
> Anton leaves the hotel in the middle of the night and returns to the
> Hunsrück in the light of a beautiful summer dawn. There follows a very
> moving scene; for me, anyway. Anton stops the car, a cock is crowing to
> welcome the day, and he has a bite to eat and looks out over the beautiful
> Rhineland landscape. The camera lingers on a field of growing wheat and on
> the sunlight on Anton's face. Anton knows and understands his roots. He does
> not have to travel to find his "heimat"; it is right there in front of him
> and within him. I was immensely moved by this. Anton has made his decision.
I have no comment on this, but I want to say again, what a brilliant analyst Ivan is. I ever knew about this, but I never found such clear an poetic words to express it. Really, really a great job, Ivan.
Glasisch indeed is a very interesting character. First, Reitz and his co-writer, Peter Steinbach, did not intend to let this role develop to become such an important one, but as they recognized the talents of the (amateur-)actor, Kurt Wagner, the worked on the plot again extending his role. Like Maria Glasisch accompanies us through all of the episodes, and we could not imagine what Heimat would be without him. On the one hand he is kind of the village idiot, on the other hand he is a very intelligent and sensitive man - as we also can see in the scene when Hermans radio-concert is broadcast. And the first part of each episode where he resumes what had happened until then - who could do it in a better way?
Ivan:
> A few words about Hermann. I think my favourite Hermann is Jorg Richter in
> the last episode. Peter Harting in this one, with his beard and dark
> glasses, and moody stares, felt unconvincing or perhaps too much of a
> departure from the previous incarnation.
I completely agree with this. I think the older Herman was a really failed casting - no one can really imagine that this sensitive and intelligent boy became such a cold and arrogant one. This is really not convincing, no way (from my point of view).
Neil asked:
> Yes, the TWO cars in the forest - what happened to the other one
> after they split up? Did it arrive at Schabbach also, and I missed it?
The second car did not reach Anton’s factory that day, in fact. The business-men meet again at the Schabbach guesthouse, we see Lotti leeding the first car to it (after the negotiations at Ernsts) with her BMW Isetta, and when they reach the yard of the guesthouse the other car is already standing there and the men are sitting at the table eating.
On last thought, just a little piece of art: do you remember the scene when Ernst and his family are watching TV and Willy Brandt is going to start the German colour-TV? When he pushes the button even the hole scenes turns from black and white into colur (not only the tv-picture). I really like these original; witty little pieces, done with very much love for the detail and with kind of artistical humor. Really nice.
Best regards to all of you, please excuse my poor English again,
Thomas
Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 23:06:51 -0000
From: "Ivan Mansley" <ivanman dsl.pipex.com>
Thomas, you have no idea what a lift to my spirits you provided with your post. I think Susan is on holiday so we have not heard from her as yet and when you wrote Neil was the only one who had followed up on my introduction. You stopped me from feeling lonely and gave me great encouragement. It's strange, isn't it? You praised my description of Anton returning to his "Heimat" that summer morning. While I was writing that section I felt like Anton a bit, happy and elated, and the words really flowed. They don't always!!
I was very pleased you were able to deal with Neil's point about the second car. I had looked in my notes and found nothing and had completely forgotten about the little scene outside the guesthouse.
I had not realised that the scene where Eduard, Pieritz and Glasisch were reminiscing was the last time we would see Eduard and Pieritz alive as it were. Like you I feel a great sense of loss. They were both portrayed in their different ways as endearing and slightly eccentric characters. The scene is in Part 9. I had written in my introduction to this episode: "As a lover of all Reitz's work all his scenes are memorable. For those with a quirky sense of humour please pay attention to Eduard, Pieritz and Glasisch bemoaning their lost past". It was with this scene in mind that I included the first quotation taken from Shakespeare's "Henry 4 Part 2. In the scene quoted from, 3 old men, Falstaff and Justices Shallow and Silence, are reminiscing about their wild days as students in the Inns of Court in London, about their whoring and drinking. They have heard "the chimes at midnight" but that was all in the past. All their old friends and acquaintances from those days are now dead [Shallow: And is old Double dead?]. The moods of this play and of "Heimat", as it draws towards its close, are remarkably similar. This can clearly be seen in Part 11, the final episode. But even here, in Part 10, we can see the mood darkening, a growing sense of melancholy, of ageing, of time running out. Just one little example; Pauline can't sit on the pouffe because her knees hurt. Pieritz will never walk down the Champs-Elysees with Klarchen. That's two!!<vbg>.
I loved the little trick as well, Thomas, when the whole scene changes to colour as Willi Brandt presses the button to inaugurate Germany's colour TV service. One of those "moments"!!
All for now. Any more thoughts on Part 10?? Stop hiding wherever you are!!
Ivan Mansley.
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 00:01:33 +0200
From: "Maarten Landzaat" <gijs xs4all.nl>
Ivan,
Hiding no more, I just watched the 10th episode. Ivan, without your beautiful and insightful intros, this collective watching would not work. PLEASE keep it up!
If I were forced to describe this episode in one sentence, it would be something like "deals with positive and negative effects of pride."
The positive aspect is of course mainly embodied in Anton's love for his Heimat and his actions that come from this love. But there's also the proudness of mothers Maria and Pauline of their sons. Ernst is proud of his business. Hermann can do his music thing because of Paul's questionable motives, one of which is (anticipated) pride. The entire village is proud that Hermann's piece is broadcast on the radio (Not very long though :-)
The negative aspects are there too: I can sense Anton's underlying feeling that he may have put off the deal now, but that trouble has only just begun. Then there's the obvious damage that Ernst's business is doing to the buildings. Paul's pride directs him towards a nice marble plate instead of helping his real son. Paul and Hermann do not take the time to visit Maria. Pride stands between a normal relation between the brothers Anton and Ernst. The family is torn apart. I also felt that pride was the main motive of all beautiful girls around Hermann. They seem more like groupies than real admirers.
Nice metaphors:
- the big Mercedeses from Brussels being lost in the woods.
- the school bus (future) not having to turn (be hold up) anymore by the monument (past).
Some general thought about Heimat up till now (I've had two amarettos so excuse me if I go astray):
- Only now I really feel the importance of the music. I figured that the music is so very non-German, so foreign, so strange, that you are forced to watch the picture with a distance. Why else would I shiver at the mere sight of aluminum doors being installed?
- Another thing that struck me: the fact that each scene is quite boring by today's television and movie standards, makes it all the more interesting to watch just because of this discrepancy. But this boringness is also a means to make you watch for the more "emergent", more abstract messages. It is this restraint that makes the higher art happen.
- The previous Hermännchen was really an exception in this respect; there the principal powerful message for me was the story itself.
Some replies to Ivan:
> But cometh the hour, cometh the man! A man for all seasons! Anton!
I agree that Anton is depicted as heroic, and I could sympathize with him for that, but I still felt very little sympathy for him for the way he met with his father and Hermann, and how he looks down on Ernst. Admittedly, they are not easy on him either, but Anton more than earned that treatment by his actions in the past.
> The episode begins with two large limousines, initially lost, gliding along
> the forest roads outside Schabbach. They are representatives of a
> multi-national corporation which seeks to take-over Anton's business. They
> are outsiders; one of them Flemish, I think.
Strange, they are supposed to come from Brussels, but the Dutch being spoken is not flemish; the accent is much more northern, from the Netherlands.
> There appears on the road in front of one of the cars, a huge stag, carrying enormous
> antlers. "What a peculiar place!" exclaims one of the men. I see Anton as the stag;
> a stag at bay! He will be no easy catch! He is offered 60 million
Brilliant! You're right!
> ...Decisively, Anton decides to drive there and
> we have the camera paying great attention to the speed and opulence of his
> car and the modernity of the autobahn and its different exits.
Just imagine how much trouble Reitz has gone through for just these few seconds.
> Anton leaves the hotel in the middle of the night and returns to the
> Hunsrück in the light of a beautiful summer dawn. There follows a very
> moving scene; for me, anyway. Anton stops the car, a cock is crowing to
> welcome the day, and he has a bite to eat and looks out over the beautiful
> Rhineland landscape. The camera lingers on a field of growing
> wheat and on the sunlight on Anton's face. Anton knows and understands his
> roots. He does not have to travel to find his "Heimat"; it is right there in
> front of him and within him. I was immensely moved by this. Anton has made
> his decision.
Yes I was moved too. And those colours! On my bad VHS copy, they looked like an impressionist painting! This is the place and time where the REAL birds sing, not in a town in a park during the night.
> We have seen him as a model employer ever since the concert party. He then
> delivers a wonderful call to arms, rejects the buy-out offer, flatters and
> praises his workers, and makes a plea for mutual trust. Anton is eloquent
> and moving. He has found a voice and I am sure Reitz is endorsing it. He
> uses this voice to good effect when he finds Ernst in their mother's attic.
> He has seen straight through Ernst's meretricious business and his rapacious
> methods. He accuses him of having no soul, of selling off his history, his
> youth, his traditions, of leaving nothing to any future generations. "You
> haven't a spark of culture under your dirty fingernails. I have always
> wanted to tell you that." How I loved those words! Anton is now a man with a
> mission; no stag at bay, but a man with new strength and belief. Great!!
Although I agree with you (and Anton), I felt sorry for Ernst, and for the fact that these two brothers cannot get along. And isn't Ernst also restoring his old junk? He is also interested in it. His interest MAY be only economical, but it only shows that the interest is broader in society. Ernst is depicted as the bad guy, but he is just a small
part of the entire economy of demand and supply.
Maarten
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2004 12:14:48 -0600
From: "Susan Biedron" <susan jsbiedron.com>
Ivan, Neil,Maarten, Thomas and others,
I am 2 days back from holiday and after deleting all the spam from my in-box, it was delightful to read all the wonderful insights and analysis of Part 10. Wow, this group is good!
First, I agree with Ivan in that I do not like Peter Harting as Hermann. He does not strike me as the sensitive character Hermann is supposed to be. Jorg Richter even looks like the future Hermann in DZH. However, Ernst and Anton really do look like brothers in spite of their different sizes. The side view of Ernst driving in his car, with a similiar mustache looks just like Anton.
It was very interesting to learn about the expansion of Kurt Wagner's role.
Anton is definitely a "hero" in this episode. He may seem overbearing at times, but he has the interests of his employees and "Heimat" at heart. We should have more bosses like him today - the world would be a better place.
I was struck by the comment of the man in the Mercedes when the stag appears in the road. Most people from the city would react "Look! A stag!" as something exciting to see - but the visiting executive just comments that this is a strange place. He sees the stag as out of place on a business trip.
I like the way Lotte is running around like a "busy bee" with her glasses - she has matured and seems to be dedicating her life to the business. No more fooling around as in the old days with Klärchen. Almost as if she is serving penance. I was rather amused when she is talking through the window to Anton and Marta, to tell them about the telex. From Anton's side you could hardly hear what she was saying. Why didn't Anton open the window?
Paul is shown in this episode as becoming a very self centered and rather unpleasant person. And Hermann's calling him "Daddy" is annoying to hear. Some of the sound on my tape is poor quality and I relied more on the subtitles - did I imagine that Hermann actually says "Daddy" ? I thought Paul was very rude to Anton. True, Paul and Hermann were working and Anton arrived unannounced. But Paul clearly wants to deal with Anton quickly and get back to his music work with Hermann. Reitz even has Paul dressed to look like an obnoxious tourist - even shorts when all the other men are wearing long pants. I am glad Maria is not there to hear Hermann call Paul "Daddy" - how that would hurt her.
Maria and Pauline: It is very sad to see Maria - she even seems old compared to Pauline. Pauline dresses more modern, is peppy and interested in modern things. It looks to me that Maria has given up on life and klings to the old ways. Yet you see the affection between the two women and I was happy that Maria still has her sister-in-law as a friend.
I, too was horrified to watch aluminum siding (and ugly siding at that) put over the old fachwerk house. At least Germany was quicker to stop this than here in the US! I think Ernst represents change, even if it is not always good. Anton is his counterpart - he tries to preserve and protect his hometown, but with his own kind of progress. The scene in the local tavern really shows how bitter Ernst is towards his brother. Perhaps he is jealous of his success. The one farmer states he is willing to deal with Ernst because of Anton's reputation.
All through this we can see the older characters relegated to smaller and smaller roles. Paul tries to hang on to being part of the new order and Glassisch continues on as before, but now with a little more respect.
The is so much to comment on in Part 10 - I 've only watched about half of it.
Tchuss,
Susan
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2004 20:38:18 -0500
From: wolfgang <wolf floitgraf.com>
Hello,
I have not had the time to contribute to this ongoing "viewing reviewing" but I would like to offer some comments or explanations to Heimat 10. I am watching the films without subtitles and I understand (and speak) the dialect. It is difficult and I hope you don't mind me jumping in at the very end but here goes:
I guess, Mercedes Benz must have sponsored this episode since there were so many of them. A nice symbol of the "Stolzen Jahre" since if you drove a big MB you had made it. Although I'd like to argue that that large Opel sedans and BMWs were more prominent in the region at that time. Opels were made in Rüsselsheim and many people bought local cars. In Germany, we said that Mercedes cars were driven by butchers (so they could haul their little trailers), taxi drivers and the politicians, so the image of wealth was somewhat muted.
The comment of the business man about the stag was meant to say:"What on earth are we doing here?" In context, he was surprised that this company they were supposed to purchase was located in this remote area. Nothing unusual with that.
My feeling about Anton is that he is genuinely moved by the offer but can't see himself giving control to a foreign owner while the going is good (and his wife tells him "what are we going to do with all that money while standing around in the street"). So, from Anton's point of view, limited as it is, he's doing the right thing to press on with the new invention of a movable photo lens that can prevent distortions for architectural photography. Yes, he also has his responsibility to the local employees in mind. He wants them to succeed and bring the "economic miracle" as it was called to Schabbach. He has the technological know-how but not the business experience to know when it's time to sell. These years were extremely optimistic in Germany. Everybody wanted to build bigger and better things. When they meet, Paul is trying to explain to Anton that he made his cut selling out to IBM and retaining control of the R&D department and he got a good deal. It is also very easy to understand why Paul likes to support Hermann, both have broken the mold and gone their own ways. It seems to me that Paul is giving Anton the right advice. It would not have meant to give up his Heimat but relinquish control to an unknown entity. Germans didn't like that in the 60s. I wondered, though, why he is saying "good bye" at the end of their meeting in Brenner's Park Hotel instead of "see you later";
that is a bit strange.
As far as the village people's reaction to the radio broadcast is concerned, I sympathize. I think, most German viewers sympathized with them when they saw the film in 1984! It was meant to be "far out" - over the top. Glasisch is able to discern the nightingales in the distorted tape broadcast and that makes him, as the person who really is telling this story, the only one with the insight of what is going on. I liked that.
The fact that people were ripping off their old facades and replacing them with some "brick-master" look was the idea of modernization those days. Ernst was able to take advantage of it and everybody was happy. 20 years later did it occur to many people that the historic look was much more genuine and desirable, but those old windows and doors were very drafty and needed replacement!!
So long -
Wolfgang
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 10:35:47 -0600
From: "Susan Biedron" <susan jsbiedron.com>
I have two more comments on the Simon family relationships after watching
the end of Part 10:
Although my sympathies were with Anton in the first half of the episode, I thought Anton was unnecessarily harsh with Ernst when they meet in the attic of the old house. It really is not fair that Anton attacks Ernst and calls him lazy. Ernst did build his own business. Sometimes it seems Ernst wants to have a better relationship with his brother - especially when his old model airplane flies and he wants Anton to see that. Even Ernst has some pleasant childhood memories.
Of course Hermann has not been a "good son" at all - dropping in on Maria after two years of not seeing his mother at all. She had trouble understanding his beard (it's 1969!), his music and his two girlfriends. Parents back then were not as accepting of change as parents are today - they wanted their children to be like them and Maria is no exception. Yet I think both Ernst and Hermann do love Maria in their own way. Ernst smiles when he sees Maria sleeping at the table. Hermann does stop off at home and helps with the wine.Yet both sons feel (correctly!) their Mother does not approve or understand them.
Wolfgang - thank you for the German perspective on the "new changes" -
Susan
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 23:00:28 +0200
From: Thomas Hönemann <Th.Hoenemann t-online.de>
Dear Heimat-friends,
During our discussion I recognised that it would sometimes be interesting for many of you to get more detailed information about some of the actors in Heimat.
Concerning this I did some research about the actors - amateurs and professionals. Eva Maria Schneider from Kirchberg (Hunsrück), who played Marie-Goot in Heimat and nowadays (among her multiple other activities) is leading the Heimat-Bustours (me and Joel - best regards - and our wifes took part in one last October) supported me to get many information you won't find in literature or anywhere else. As the result I published the actors-page yesterday, containing all names of the players of important roles, further personal information and links (unfortunately all in German, but maybe this could be interesting for you, nevertheless). You will be surprised about the number of amateurs who even played central roles, e. g. Katharina, Mathias, Marie-Goot, Robert Kröber and many others.
Please feel again invited to visit my Heimat-webpages. I am looking forward to your comments and guestbook-entries.
Heimat Main-page: http://home.t-online.de/home/th.hoenemann/heimat/index.htm
Heimat actors-page: http://home.t-online.de/home/th.hoenemann/heimat/actors.htm
Best regards
Thomas
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 19:27:41 +0200
From: Bradnsj aol.com
Susan
I'm afraid I can't agree.
I feel pretty sure that Reitz wants us to identify with Anton, as he does himself. I don't have any sympathy with Ernst; I don't find him a sympathetic character, at all. I'm right with Anton when he rounds on him for what Ernst is doing to the culture and heritage that is his, Anton's, as well as those people that are selling to Ernst.
Best wishes
Neil Bradley
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 19:29:05 +0200
From: Bradns aol.com
Wolfgang
thank you so, so much for these insights.
Very useful to have the cultural context.
Best wishes
Neil Bradley
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 10:03:08 -0800
From: <jkadvany@sbcglobal.net>
All:
It's useful to see Ernst, Anton and Hermann as responses to different kinds of technological change, themselves mixed up with historical events, a theme which begins with Paul's electronic obsessions at the start of Heimat, and is reflected in many changes to the village over the years. Specifically, Ernst takes up a simple business based on new housing materials that disrespects the past (eg buy up old doors and windows on the day of Maria's funeral, then replace the work of centuries in an afternoon); Anton's lens factory is disrupted by crop dusting, I believe using pesticides, itself a reminder of poisons used during the war (the farm is owned by the former Nazi boy and his father); and finally Hermann who goes electronic-modern in his music (though of course that's also a reminder of the bond between himself and his adoptive father Paul). Paul is the techno-wizard par excellence, having moved to Detroit to make a fortune, but then sells it off, and advises Anton to do the same, with total lack of feeling for a traditional role for the craft of lens-making in Schabbach. And again, where did Anton learn to be a lens-wizard?-- on the front during WWII, and he conceived of his lens-patent idea while walking back a thousand miles, in reverse of Paul's leaving the village by foot one day in the early 20th century.
So, it's not so much whether we identify or not with Anton vs. Ernst, they're both caught up by changing technolgies which shape their lives. By the way, in terms of Anton vs. Ernst, don't forget (I guess this only appears in 2nd Heimat) that Anton acts horribly to Hermann once his love affair with Klarchen is discovered, while Ernst helps Hermann communicate secretly with her by mail afterward.
Cheers,
John Kadvany
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 00:05:22 +0100
From: "Ivan Mansley" <ivanman dsl.pipex.com>
I have only just finished writing my introduction to Part 11. I will post it tomorrow, Friday, April 2nd, 2004. It has been a long labour of love!! After a slow start discussion certainly livened up on Part 10. I would like to welcome one newcomer, Jack Kadvany. We had 7 contributors and 12 posts in all, plus one abject apology for falling right behind. Apologies accepted, Theresia, and hope you will be joining us again soon. We miss you!
I am afraid I have had an idea!! Our great leader, Mr. Rustema, has not provided any more time than usual on the published schedule, but, as this is the last episode coming up, I would like every person who has contributed at any time before, to write something on the film "Heimat" as a whole. It does not have to be a full length critique, although, of course, it can be. You could just tell us all which scenes have stuck in your memory or which of the actors or actresses gave the finest performances. Did the film have any special meanings for you? Ivan expects every man/woman to do his/her
duty!!<VBG>
Therefore responses to Part 11 should reach the list by the end of Good Friday, April 9th and responses to "Heimat", the whole film, by the end of Thursday, April 15th. We begin DZH on April 16th. This is a unilateral declaration! No excuses will be accepted <VBG>.
Ivan Mansley.
Date: Sat, 10 Apr 2004 02:09:57 +0200
From: ReindeR Rustema <reinder rustema.nl>
At 23:06 +0000 27/03/04, Ivan Mansley wrote:
> Any more thoughts on Part 10?? Stop hiding wherever you are!!
A late one...
I just watched part 10 and I am now catching up with my reading. Remember the scene in which Pauline arrives with the box she found in the cellar? The box with the pre-war money Robert had hid in 1939, completely worthless... A silence... A memory of the clocks ticking. Dreams of the past, of travelling to Lake Garda. Then, the music becomes light (that theme we start to recognise when a character's dreams are unfolded). "Our travels are with one finger on an atlas, isn't it?" What then happens is a feeling from their youth. Remember that night in 1938 when Maria went to the cinema around the corner, visiting Pauline in Leipzig? She allowed herself to feel young then, with dreams. They were imitating the filmstar Zarah Leander (Banty, thanks for sending the newspaper clipping about her, what coincidence you had saved it) in front of the mirror. Feeling far away in the world. That same feeling, but now they allow themselves to dream about going to Florida, where the sun always shines! But first get rid of her cow she has to milk every day (just like Robert at the time couldn't leave his shop for a day), so Maria can finally leave Shabbach, what she has been dreaming of all her live! Later on we see her tears when the cow is pushed in the truck of the butcher without any love. When I shared her tears, I realised she is not going to Florida. Maria is NOT going to leave the Hunsrück, this is her Heimat, she will stay here until the end of her time... Sad.
So there really was a touching scene in part 10, it was just a bit hidden.
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 21:50:15 +0200
From: Raymond Scholz <rscholz zonix.de>
· On Mar 25 2004, Thomas Hönemann <Th.Hoenemann@t-online.de> wrote:
> The second car did not reach antons factory that day, in fact. The
> business-men meet again at the Schabbach guesthouse,
Yet another detail on those two business men later negotiating with Anton. The slim, short haired one is played by Bernd Eichinger (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0251536/) who is a well known producer in German cinema and has recently started to work on international productions and directing films himself. You see him almost constantly smoking during his scenes, which is told to be one of his favourite passions (others are cinema and women...). Eichinger and Reitz appear to be good friends, the cover sleeves of the absolutmedien VHS of Heimat contains a transcript of a talk between Reitz and Eichinger.
Telling from the credits, the other business man is played by Laurens Straub (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0833713/) who appears to be a film producer too. But I didn't know him until know.
> On last thought, just a little piece of art: do you remember the scene when
> Ernst and his family are watching TV and Willy Brandt is going to start the
> German colour-TV? When he pushes the button even the hole scenes turns from
> black and white into colur (not only the tv-picture). I really like these
> original; witty little pieces, done with very much love for the detail and
> with kind of artistical humor. Really nice.
Another detail that may be of interest on this historical footage. I'm quite sure that Reitz - being a perfectionist - corrected some tiny glitch from the past that erupted some discussion in 1967. The button Willy Brandt pushed was a mock-up, not at all wired. So when Brandt pushed the button some technician behind the scenes (perhaps hundreds of kilometres away) had to turn over the real switch. He must have been so much excited about colour TV entering German homes, that he pushed that switch about 2 seconds before Brandt actually pressed down the red mock-up button. But only very few households in Germany noticed that little error since almost no one could afford a colour TV.
I couldn't find the original video of this on the web to finally proof that Reitz is manipulating historical events by delaying the moment the colour enters the screens... We should remember that Heimat has been completed in 1984 :-)
I'm now going to watch the final part 11 on my private Heimat Easter marathon which has been an exciting experience so far. Thank you all for your insightful contributions that made watching the films even more interesting! I'll be back in sync then for Die Zweite Heimat which I'm really looking forward to.
Cheers, Ray