Reitz drama still superior
Edgar Reitz’s epic series Heimat, a dramatic work which follows the fortunes of the Simons from a small German village in 1919 onwards, became a huge hit when it featured on the BBC back in the Eighties.
Now Tartan has followed up its DVD success with the latest instalment.
Heimat 2 takes the story up in the 1960s with the backdrop of student unrest. The central love theme continues with composer Hermann and cellist Clarissa, but with its strong visual images and historical background this is an immensely engaging work that demands a lot of the viewer — it runs to a staggering 25 hours. The first series ran to 21 hours.
Reitz has delivered an audacious production: in fact Heimat is now a trilogy and Heimat 3 (around 11 hours and covering the fall of the Berlin Wall onwards) is expected to be shown on the BBC this autumn. Unmissable.
Drama *****
