Heimatfilm
Encyclopedia
Heimatfilm is the name given to a film genre that was popular in Germany
, Switzerland
and Austria
from the late 40s to the early 70s. They were usually shot in the Alps
, the Black Forest
or the Lüneburg Heath
and always involved the outdoors. Heimatfilms were noted for their rural settings, sentimental tone and simplistic morality, and centered around love, friendship, family and non-urban life. Also, the polarity between old and young, tradition and progress, rural and urban life was articulated. The typical plot structure involved both a "good" and "bad" guy wanting a girl, conflict ensuing, and the "good" guy ultimately triumphing to win the girl to the happiness of everyone and the children.
Heimat
is a German word that can be translated as home, homeland
, home soil or fatherland (each having a different emphasis and connotation
).
English-language features that could qualify as Heimatfilme include Lassie Come Home
, Spencer's Mountain
, and Where the Red Fern Grows
. In a broader sense it's possible to view the Western
-genre as the American counterpart to the german Heimatfilm.
The genre originally came to life following the devastation of Germany in World War II, suggesting a whole, romantic world untouched by the hazards of real life (i.e. war damage and subsequent rebuilding); this remained popular from the mid-1940s to the 1960s.
The trilogy of films called "Heimat
" by the German director Edgar Reitz
(1984, 1992, and 2004) are partly an ironic reference to this type of sentimental film.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
from the late 40s to the early 70s. They were usually shot in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
or the Lüneburg Heath
Lüneburg Heath
The Lüneburg Heath is a large area of heath, geest and woodland in northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover, and Bremen and is named after the town of Lüneburg. Most of the area is a nature reserve...
and always involved the outdoors. Heimatfilms were noted for their rural settings, sentimental tone and simplistic morality, and centered around love, friendship, family and non-urban life. Also, the polarity between old and young, tradition and progress, rural and urban life was articulated. The typical plot structure involved both a "good" and "bad" guy wanting a girl, conflict ensuing, and the "good" guy ultimately triumphing to win the girl to the happiness of everyone and the children.
Heimat
Heimat
Heimat is a German word that has no simple English translation. It is often expressed with terms such as home or homeland, but these English counterparts fail to encapsulate the true meaning of the word.-The meaning of Heimat:...
is a German word that can be translated as home, homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
, home soil or fatherland (each having a different emphasis and connotation
Connotation
A connotation is a commonly understood subjective cultural or emotional association that some word or phrase carries, in addition to the word's or phrase's explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation....
).
English-language features that could qualify as Heimatfilme include Lassie Come Home
Lassie Come Home
Lassie Come Home is a 1943 MGM film starring Roddy McDowall and canine actor, Pal, in a story about the profound bond between Yorkshire boy Joe Carraclough and his rough collie, Lassie. The film was directed by Fred M. Wilcox from a screenplay by Hugo Butler based upon the 1940 novel Lassie...
, Spencer's Mountain
Spencer's Mountain
Spencer's Mountain is a 1963 family film written, directed, and produced by Delmer Daves from a novel by Earl Hamner, Jr. The novel and film became the basis for the popular television series The Waltons, which followed in 1972...
, and Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Red Fern Grows is a children's novel written by Wilson Rawls about a boy who buys and trains two Redbone Coonhound hunting dogs. This book is a popular choice for early middle school reading classes, with a reading level appropriate to grades 4 and up.-Plot summary:Before leaving work one...
. In a broader sense it's possible to view the Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
-genre as the American counterpart to the german Heimatfilm.
The genre originally came to life following the devastation of Germany in World War II, suggesting a whole, romantic world untouched by the hazards of real life (i.e. war damage and subsequent rebuilding); this remained popular from the mid-1940s to the 1960s.
The trilogy of films called "Heimat
Heimat (film)
Heimat is the overall title of three series of films in 30 episodes written and directed by Edgar Reitz which view life in Germany between 1919 and 2000 through the eyes of a family from the Hunsrück area of the Rhineland. Personal and domestic life is set against glimpses of wider social and...
" by the German director Edgar Reitz
Edgar Reitz
Edgar Reitz is a German filmmaker and Professor of Film at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung in Karlsruhe.- Early life and education :...
(1984, 1992, and 2004) are partly an ironic reference to this type of sentimental film.