Netflix doesn't have a great selection of German films, but it now offers the entire Heimat Trilogy - Edgar Reitz's epic saga that covers Germany's tumultuous history from 1918 to 2000. This is more than 53 hours of film on 20 DVD's (streaming format not available). And, based on what I've seen, it is a riveting story. I finished the first Heimat - 15 hours of viewing - and found that I had grown a beard and my lawn was in desperate need of mowing.
The first Heimat focuses almost exclusively on the Simon family in the tiny rural village of Schabbach in western Germany. We experience the Weimar inflation, the Nazi era, the war, the American occupation and the Wirtschaftswunder in Schabbach, where change comes very slowly - if at all. The family (and the village) are held together by the beautiful and long-suffering Maria Simon (wonderfully acted by Marita Breuer). The acting is superb, and the script is excellent - except for the Felliniesque final episode. I loved the cinematography, but I don't quite get why Edgar Reitz keeps switching from black and white to color.
Reitz has been criticized for its realtively benign depiction of the Nazi period. But I think it is accurate that the 1930's were perceived by many as a time of relative prosperity (see Götz Aly's 2005 book Hitlers Volkstaat) until the war led tp widespread shortages and misery. And one of the central characters - Wilfried Wiegand - joins the SS and is heard bragging about the Final Solution at a Christmas party.
Reitz has made some allowances for the American audience. Each episode begins with a recap of the story in English, narrated by one of the characters in the drama.
I've started Die zweite Heimat - Chronik einer Jugend, which follows Maria's youngest son Hermann as he leaves the provincial Schabbach for the bright lights and Bohemian life in the Schwabing section of Munich.
I'm not sure why but this blog is loading very slow for me. Is anyone else having this problem or is it a issue on my end? I'll check back later on and see if the problem
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Posted by: Invest Open | September 26, 2012 at 01:22 PM
I watched the Heimat series a few years back, ever an avid fan of foreign films. My favorite character was Karl Glasisch. I actually quite enjoyed this series. But then I also liked the Chinese television show called "Laughing in the Wind", which ran 40 episodes. I rented Heimat from Videoport in Maine, but it's on youtube also. Interesting, the Esperanto word for home is taken from this archaic "old folks" word "heimat": it becomes "hejmo". To say homeward, one uses the affix "e" like "hejme".
Posted by: michijo | September 26, 2012 at 02:24 PM
Why dont you tell them about the movie Stroszek?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HzKrBd3BR8
Posted by: michijo | September 29, 2012 at 08:38 PM
Drat! Not yet available for instant viewing, only DVD's.
Posted by: Harvey Morrell | October 01, 2012 at 11:17 AM
... Because Ian Curtis commited suicide after watchin Stroszek!
Posted by: Josep Canals | July 22, 2019 at 04:41 AM
I would love to watch the Heimat series with English subtitles and/or get the scripts for Heimat 01 and 02. I can painstakingly translate them into English. Do you know if these are available and how I might access them?
Posted by: Louis | April 28, 2020 at 06:58 PM
I am a Netflix customer..are the Heimat series (dvd) available through the Netflix dvd program? Please advise.
Posted by: Don Gartman | August 09, 2020 at 03:37 PM
I would very much like to view this series, will you have it available any time soon.
Posted by: Kathleen Ide | July 04, 2022 at 03:11 PM