Writing these lines demands a precise declaration of intend: to antedate too much of the contents would be as wrong as not to satisfy your needs for information and curiosity by using nebolous words and descriptions. Basically I am no film-critic, and I cannot justify my feeling of having seen a very good and extraordynary film by proving it by any scientific categories, words or analysis. So I am going to create this text as a summary of thoughts wich came while watching the film for two times. Feel sincerely invited to disagree, complete oder concretise my words.
TWO PREMIERS - TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS
For someone like me, who is not native to the milleu of filmmakers and -critis,
the invitation to the german premier of HEIMAT 3 in the Munich
Prinzregententheater means the attendance to another world. A really
breathtaking experience. And the short breaks between the films did not suffice
to do all the things that could have been done. For me, ReindeR and Raymond
there was not even enough time for eating and drinking - besides to my great
pleasure and honor to meet them personally for the first time. Next to nearly
all of the important actors of HEIMAT 3 to my big delight even Marita Breuer,
Karin Rasenack and Jörg Hube, those impressing and eternal characters of HEIMAT,
have been there, and, I have to concede it, the common photo with Mrs. Breuer
and Mr. Hube had to take place, most primitive fannish behaviour somehow or
other. But the most exciting experience: myself being recogniced by strangers, "you
are the one with the green webpage ..." - unbelievable, and then beeing
interviewed about all this together with ReindeR and Ray, by Professor Lothar
Spree and by Sabine Mahr from the SWR radio.Coming to Simmern one week later
Marga Molz acclaimed me with the words "Ich wusst, dat sie komme, ich hon sie
doch gestern noch im Radio gehört." (I knew you were coming, I recogniced your
voice on the radio yesterday.) I felt homelike immediately, amongst friends.
Half of the cinemas audience took part in HEIMAT 3, as actors or in the
background, all of them full of enthusiastic and inspriring urge to talk about
their experiences. It is remarkable: anywhere where filmteams did their job they
left scorched earth. And Edgar Reitz achieved to create two monumental films in
the Hunsrück, and nobody is angry with him. In opposite: People are full of
confidence and conviction committed to their Hunsrück, their HEIMAT and their
genious Edgar Reitz, who appears on Saturday evening for the premier party as
unboastful and naturally as he had never been away, and had never been the
famous, established, intellectual director from munich.ABOUT SLOWNESS AND PRECISION
The fact that I experienced the first three films in Munich like joyning a roller coaster trip I first ascribed to my own affection and inadequate expectations. But thinnking about it made clear: especially these first three films were influenced by the forces of the investors, the public TV-broadcasters, very deeply. Shurely: the customs of watching TV changed during the last twenty years, but: that the reunion of those two, who struggled for each other for 13 films and 26 hours without succes, just took five minutes of film with the Berlin wall falling at the same time, disapproved all my hopes and expectations of tying up to Reitz's deliberate rythm of filming I became fond of. The impression of an outsized contentual denseness realtivised with the second watching, but anyway: Edgar Reitz was able (and allowed?) to realise his very own style and rythm of narrating not until the fourth film, but then in a
very impressing and convincing way. And the fact, that this fourth film had to be shortened for the german TV-broadcasting from 132 to 92 minutes (!) really makes me cared.
We can discover how precise Edgar Reitz worked again even this time on lots of
little details, for example at the audio-track, I never (conciously) found such
sophisticated sphears of sound before. So who will care for the fact, that the
team had sometimes to fight against the seasons because of the chronological
order of filming, or Hermann going to pay at a filling station with the petrol
pump showing 0,00 €, or an advertisement of a directory assistance (11833)
appearing at a station wich was not established in the concrete year? - Not to
forget: the (again) lovingly and authentic equipment, wich could not have been
realised without the help of the people in Hunsrück. On Sunday morning (26th of
Sept.) I sat on Matkos moped, and its owners, Werner and Ingrid Litzenberger, even owner of
the Anzenfelder Mühle (where Ernst lives in the film), appeared in the credits
of the film in the category "Gute Seelen" (good spritis).ESTABLISHED AND NEW THINGS
The quotings from and parallels to HEIMAT, that appear in HEIMAT 3, are a really great pleasure for me. Here some examples, I will be thankful for further references (some of the follwoing aspekts, all marked with *, were found by Theresia Sikkens-van der Meij who indeed is a very competent HEIMAT-lover, thank you very much, Theresia!).
- "Freundlich, freundlich ..." (friendly, friendly) Clarissa instructs Gunnar, Udo and the bank assistants when taking a photo of them (H3, film 1), just like Eduard did years ago (H1, nearly all episodes), and also Mr. Schwarz does when taking the photo for Antons company anniversary (H3, film 3).
- Anton introduces the hunsrück food to Gunnar and Udo (H3, film 1), just like he did years ago when the busisnessman who intended to absorb his company visited him (H1, film 10).*
- Ernst still being true to his Motto: "... immer nur ne kurze Bodeberührung, dann gleich wieder durchgestartet ..." (just a short touchdown to earth, but then going upward immediately) (H1, film 11 / H3, films 2 und 5),
- exactly as his father Anton once was Hartmut is convinced: "... jetzt wird die Welt neu verteilt ..." (now the world is shared newly, wich means it would be a good time to get into buisiness) (H1, film 8), but Anton is not true to this motto anymore (H3, film 3),
- even this time Ernst introduces a woman causing trouble, once Klärchen who Hermann felt in love with (H1, film 9), now Galina turning Hartmuts head (H3, Film 3).
- Galina running through the village searching for the doctor (H3, film 3), just like once Maria did when Lotti laid in bed with high fever (H1, film 2).*
- like in the first two films of HEIMAT even now a trap for a marten plays an indeed incising role (H3, film 4),
- Anton, the "Fußgänger" (pedestrian), walking in front of his car (H3, film 4), just like Paul did when coming back to Schabbach (H1, film 7)*,
- if Antons heart aches he gets a foot-massage, once by his lovely wife Martha (who (fictively) died in 1987 and so does not reappear in Heimat 3, unfortunately) (H1, film 10), now by his favorite (and only) daughter-in-law, Mara (H3, film 4).*
- even Antons gold plated boots reappear, pedantist (as Ernst calls him) remains pedantist ... (H3, Film 4)
- red cloves falling from the sky, not only at the "Ferntrauung" (marriage by proxy) of Anton and Martha once in Schabbach, when Ernst threw them out of the cockpit of his military plane (H1, film 5), but also from the Loreley-rock when Matko bids farewell to his paternal friend Ernst (what a seensitive parallel! - H3, film 5).
- Hermann dreams of the coffin having been abandoned on the street in the tempest (H1, film 11 / H3, film 6), and even all those who had died in H3 reappear in this scene.