(Germany 1992 1,059m) DVD1/2
Aka. Die Zweite Heimat; Heimat: The Next Generation
Art or life?
p Joachim Von Mengershausen, Edgar Reitz d/w Edgar Reitz ph Gernot Roll, Gerard Vandenberg, Christian Reitz ed Susanne Hartmann m Nikos Mamangakis art Franz Bauer cos Billie Brassers, Nikola Hoelz
Henry Arnold (Hermann Simon), Salome Kaller (Clarissa Lichtblau), Gisela Muller (Evelyne Cerphal), Anke Sevenich (Schnüsschen), Noemi Stauer (Helga), Lena Lessing (Olga), Daniel Smith (Juan), Eva Maria Bayerwaltes (Aunt Pauline), Eva Maria Schneider (Marie-Goot), Michael Seyfried (Ansgar), Michael Schönborn (Alex), László I.Kich (Reinhard), Peter Weiss (Rob), Frank Roth (Stefan), Armin Fuchs (Volker), Hanna Köhler (Frau Moretti), Susanne Lothar (Esther), Anna Thalbach (Trixi), Alfred Edel (Herr Edel), Ivan Desny (René Christian), Franziske Traub (Renate), Edith Behleit (Mother Lichtblau), Hannelore Hoger (Frau Cerphal), Kurt Wagner (Glasisch),
Heimat was, upon its release in 1984, regarded as an unquestionable masterpiece and, for its director, a summit he could not hope to top. After all, how does one go higher than Everest? The answer of course is that you don’t, you tackle the Eiger. And that’s just what he did with this sequel, making the cinematic equivalent to the North Face of the Eiger. True, not the height or scope of Everest, but the period it did cover was covered so meticulously, and was so important and challenging as to represent the most difficult option open to him. Ask any mountain climber, what would they rather climb, Everest or the North Face of the Eiger, they’d head off to Nepal every time.
In truth, the second series was started not that long after the tumultuous praise heaped upon the original had dissipated. He began work on Heimat 2 in the late eighties, a time which proved to be a pivotal one in German history with the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification. Yet that tale would provide the touch-paper for the third film in his trilogy in 2004. The second series is, in truth, not a sequel to the original, but rather a sort of expansion of a missing chapter. We follow Maria’s son Hermann as he heads to Munich and Berlin to study music, and we follow him, his friends, loves and work through the sixties from ‘The Time of the First Songs’ in 1960 to the final choice between art or life in 1970. We follow him through all aspects of sixties Germany, as he sees friends move on or even die, other dreams realised, some stymied. As for his own, he finally does achieve some sense of purpose, so that by the time we come full circle and he returns to the home village of the first series, Schabbach, that he left in the opening moments, and he is met by the immortal Glasisch-Karl, he’s not on a road to nowhere. He doesn’t know quite where it takes him, but in going back he is going forward. Only by coming to terms with his past can he do so. This of course is a common feeling we’ve all felt, and it is in putting the past behind him that he does move on, as we remember his successes in the eighties from the end of series one.
Yet in truth Hermann’s journey is rather like that of a tour guide, driving his bus through the ruins and ghosts of not so much Berlin or Munich, but an entire way of life. Reitz is more interested in the direction Germans took at the time, and of course parallels with his own artistic life as an experimental film-maker and cinematographer in the sixties are hard to avoid. Certainly it’s a darker piece than the first one, where the menace of Nazism, though dark and sinister, was very much whispered of and hidden. Here the darkness is all around. Our hero and his friends may have a hedonistic life to enjoy (and certainly there is lot more sex and nudity than in the first saga), but also a certain moral temperance, as in the case of Helga’s emersion into anarchy and terrorism and young Trixi’s various misfortunes. In truth, it’s a saga that cannot even begin to be grasped in a mere three paragraphs, it needs to be experienced. Its scope perhaps unmatched in cinema history and its length not only the greatest theatrical entry in this list but of all time. Art or life? Life, definitely. But if one can have both, that’s alright, too.
Click on names for archives
Writers/Founders
As I’ve always stated to you Allen, this second HEIMAT (Die Zweite Heimat) is the best of the three, as it’s the most acutely focused and it’s intimate.
Superlative review.
Sorry, I haven’t seen this. I’ll need a few weeks.
Great review. I must admit this series has faded badly in my mind, though I still remember the first Heimat much better – not sure why this is, but I would like to see the second one again.
This is a great essay. Unfortunately, the inspiration you shed here brings me to a dilemma. ALL THESE MOVIES TO SEE AND SO LITTLE TIME TO SEE THEM. With a running time of this length I would have to take three consecutive days off to watch this, with the third being an entire day of rest. The plot thickens even more now, thinking you were going to list this in your top ten. I can’t wait to see what surprizes and bombs you’ve planted. Schmulee has also praised this film, personally to me, many times and was the one who originally brought it to my attention. You reiterate, almost verbatum, what Sam has said of this work. Thanx, Dennis
Yes, Dennis, the length meant Sam took 6 months to get round to seeing it himself.
Why does that bother you? I watched it though, didn’t I? Isn’t it enough that I watch over 300 movies and series at your urging? You wouln’t last if you had to maintain what we have here. You are a couch potato. Anyone can do that!
I’m simply salivating when I read about this series. Heimat 1 is next up in my Wonders queue; right now, I’m watching Berlin Alexanderplatz. Which brings me to Dennis’ point:
Dennis, purity aside, it’s best to watch most of these spread out over the course of several days or more likely weeks (or as has been the case with Berlin, which is quite long and which has been interrupted by various events and mishaps, months when all’s said and done). In all honesty, most of these can work as films or as miniseries and many actually were shown as the latter (the only one I think MUST be seen in one or two sittings, if possible, is Out 1 – but maybe that’s because I DID see it this way, in all-day screenings on a Saturday & Sunday in New York.)
It might be nice to have a marathon viewing (then again, it may become a chore) but I think the “miniseries” approach is a legit way out for all of these.
MovieMan0283, you mentionned Berllin Alexander Platz. I am based in the UK and cannot find it anywhere. Any pointers? BTW: in the UK, Heimat 1, 2 & 3 are available through any DVD rental outfit.
I understand the point, Joel. And, I laugh at Allan’s comment on Sam’s stamina and scheduling system (actually, Schmulee has the best stamina for this kind of thing once he commits-ask him about our all day-5 movie New York City runs-they’re legendary). However, with me, I cannot stomach the week to week programming of network (or cable) programming. I’m a one sitting (two at most) guy. When the time permits, or I can shush aside responsibilities, I will work some of these gargantuans in. LOST (J.J. Abrams show) is done season by season on DVD in one sitting. THE SOPRANOS and SIX FEET UNDER started me doing this and has turned me into a marathon man. In all honesty, though nuts, its really the only way for me. Once we get going, I defy anyone to challenge me and Sam. Just don’t ask Schmulee where he finds parking in the city! LOL!
When it comes to marathon viewings at home, I’d have both of you for breakfast, Dennis. Though Sam admittedly doesn’t watch movies at home since the site started up – which kinda makes me wonder why he still gets DVDs he’ll never watch.
Just like Allan hasn’t watched movies in the movie theatre since the day he was born. PLEASE leave me out of your poisonous DVD viewing discussions from now on. I just got back from Manhattan after seeing three films consecutively, after seeing three yesterday, all in separate theatres. My DVD watching is sporadic, depending on what time is left after my torrid weekly excusrsions. I have seen 90% of the thousands in my collection, maybe that’s why I collect them?!?
Again, I would like my name left out of home viewing discussions thanks, since whenever it does come up it’s critical. When you take on the extraordinary social calandar I am somehow maintaining, and when you have a family of seven, then talk to me.
And as far as that laughable comment about having both of us for breakfast try doing what I do each and every week on the outside, crossing crowded tunnels, struggling for parking through gridlocks, and attending many different theatres in various locations. Then tell me about stamina my friend. You are a minor leaguer.
The comment that “Sam stopped watching DVDs since the site started up” is an outlandish lie. I’ve watched hundreds at home since that time, I just stopped being Allan’s “sdlave” at that time. I resent having to be told by anyone what I should be doing with my personal time, since I never ever tell anyone else (including Allan) to do.
I am busy attending movies where they were made to be seen, all week long, in movie theatres. You haven’t got theatres where you are? Fine. Fair enough. But I do, and I make the best of it.
I buy DVDs, because like you I am also a collector. I have always been. If I buy a DVD of a movie I already saw in a theatre, I don’t find the urgency of watching it again, if it interferes with seeing a film on the outside that I have not seen. Nobody who buys DVDs regularly gets the mileage they should, considering what they spent.
Well, this isn’t a pissing contest… BUT… I remember a day in 1994, we did “THE RUN-AROUND”… He picks me up at 830am. Into the city and breakfast at Houlihans on 63 and Broadway. Into LOEWS by Lincoln Center (MRS. PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE-we hated it). After that, same theatre, IMMORTAL BELOVED (loved the pertformance by Gary Oldman but we had mixed feelings on the film). Then, across and down to Lincoln Square Cinema’s (RED, both called it the best of the year). Back to the LOEWS (NOBODY’S FOOL-enjoyable and Paul Newman was superb. Dinner break. Lincoln Square again (THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE-superb as well and Hawthorne’s performance a stand out). The Sam drops the bomb. An 10 pm showing at the film forum… READY? A four hour documentary on inner city black kids tryinh to. Make the NBA called HOOP DREAMS. C’mon Allan, you think you got what it takes? Sam’s good!!!!!
Exactly. Let Allan rail on. And how many plays, concerts, operas have you seen in person during the same time that these movies are being watched.
I don’t want any prizes for what I do, I just don’t want the miracles that i perform regularly to be compromised by my name coming up in a discussion of negligence!
Point is, I have many responsibilities and yeah, with the site going strong, and blogging to attend to, I haven’t seen as many DVDs over the past year as I have prior to that. So what! Something has to give. The site won’t last forever, and eventually I’ll swing back into DVD mode. But for now it’s the site, movie going, theatre going, concert going, and my full time teaching job, and activities with the kids. That’s MY life. I recommend you attend to yours.
I suggest Allan change the record – the needle has been stuck since the site started. Is anyone really interested? I suggest you both look at the falling traffic, the decline in both the Google PR and Alexa ranking as an indication of where all this pontification about nothing gets you.
As for the site’s traffic, well it’s not my site, so that’s not my remit. I just schedule the pieces and that’s it.
LOL!!!! I know Schmulee, I know. But, and I don’t care if this sounds arrogant. There was a time, even though I have slowed, that people thought we were nuts with our intake of theatrical films. There was, literally NOTHING Sam didn’t see, I’ll attest to that. I remember poor Lucille, pregnant as all get out, sleeping in theatres because our insanity wouldn’t allow her a break. On top of this, Sam and I were box seat holders at the MET with anywhere between one and two shows a week. Often, after he’d drop me and Lu off, I found he would sneak back into a theatre for “just one more”. Actually, Allan, I think you’d be the first course on Sam’s breakfast diet. Professional critics don’t see this many in a day or week. The happiest time in my memory were my adventures in the city with Schmulee.
Dennis, outside at theatres, I agree, Sam’s a maniac, and he should be reported for domestic abuse for what he puts Lucille through and laughs off like “give me a break, it’s what wives are for!”. Gandhi treated his wife better. And as for his kids, they’ll be scarred for life from security blanket duty. How many times have they been dragged out late at night to the city to watch a documentary on opera, fallen asleep in the theatre, then been woke up for drive home, been awake most of the night and then fallen asleep in school, got in trouble and Sam’s shouted at them for it.
He gains by seeing things in the theatres straight away where I have to wait for DVDs through necessity, but I do eventuually get to see things. However, trips to New York take time (I’m sure he dreams about gridlock in the Lincoln Tunnel), and other family commitments, so it means he loses out in viewing old stuff at home. He just hasn’t the time, which is understandable, no matter how many times I may josh him for it.
We’re just different sort of obsessionals. I obsess over seeing everything I possibly can in film history and seek things out like a sniffer hound on a drugs bust. Sam concentrates on whatever comes to New York theatres (which is admittedly 90-95% of new releases) to visit every theatre so often he ends up being charged seat tax, like Pacman eating dots, avoiding not ghosts but cinema ushers saying “you only paid once!” With home viewing, however, different story. The couch is too close to the computer, he can’t sit still long enough to watch one, let alone 6 in a day (14 in a weekend), reviewing those necessary as you go. LOL
But enough of this, Tony and others are right, it’s getting tired, like the FBI warnign that you can’t forward past on DVDs.
Well Allan, that’s fair enough.
And that’s why I stopped sending you stuff. It’s just pressure you don’t need and pointless. You don’t need to see everything. So there are great films you haven’t seen, over 100 of them, but there are well over a thousand YOU HAVE.
I could no more make you watch anything than you could make me not watch it. Enough.
Today I finally finished Heimat II (I started it in the fall, but it was interrupted by months where I was working most of the time and had stopped my Netflix altogether). Much as I love the time period covered here (I’m a sixties fanatic) I think I prefer Heimat I overall; Heimat II can, on occasion, become a little tedious and drawn-out. That said, I think I’ll remember the characters and mood of II more deeply and poignantly, almost like I lived alongside them for a period. That moment where the girl shows up on the train at the end with the photos of Foxholes, just 4 years earlier (and only 3 or 4 episodes earlier) yet a lifetime away – is poignant, especially when he comes across the picture of Helga, looking sad and lonely in her pre-terrorist days.
(On a side-note, as someone compulsively anal about chronological consistency I was a bit perturbed by the liberties II takes with the original Heimat timeline – for example, Hermann is seen as already a success, with his studio intact, with his stepfather’s visit in 1966 though here he’s still a struggling artist at that point. More importantly, there’s that ’69 episode which ends with him showing up in his mother’s kitchen with two mistresses; not only is this completely contradicted by Heimat II ending with Hermann’s return home in ’70, but the character on display here bears little resemblance to the Hermann we encounter at the end of II. Also, the two actors look nothing alike. All in all, I prefer the developments in Heimat II, and almost wish Hermann had just been completely absent through the 60s period in Heimat I, but admittedly it’s kind of a pointless objection.)
Most importantly, what amazes me is how even with this gargantuan running length – and really, these aren’t even episodes of a miniseries but more like a series of feature films (I mean, each “episode” is a full 2 hours!!!) – there remains so much unseen, imagined. Like Hermann says a few times in the show, “I had the feeling life was going on elsewhere”; even with its depth and detail the series captures a wistful, restless sense of energy offscreen and time slipping by, all of which is to its immense credit.
Also interesting to note: the age of the actors playing the student crowd. Looking on IMDB, they were all, to a person, in their thirties when the show premiered, some of them well into their mid-thirties. Which is funny, because I found myself thinking, in the later episodes when the characters hit 30, that the actors were playing a bit over their age bracket. Guess not. Put another way, the actress playing the patroness, supposedly of their parents’ generation, was only 15 years older than the majority of cast members. Weird.
Well Joel, I have seen all three HEIMATS (with these I did sucumb to Allan’s badgering) and I liked the second part the least. Hence I stand with you on this intricate analysis. I am also a 60’s fanatic, but I guess it was the strong political undercurrent that for me lacked the focus of urgency with Part 1 and the surprisingly excellent Part 3. When you see Part 3 you will again be approaching the stars, I assure you.
Joel, my apologies. Allan claims it’s the onset of senility. I somehow mixed up 2 and 3.
The one you just saw is actually my favorite.