HEIMAT 3 - Episode 1: the Happiest People in the World [1989] 1

CONTENTS The Discussions are as follows: Page 1. HEIMAT 3 - Episode 1: The Happiest People in the World [1989] 1 2. HEIMAT 3 - Episode 2: The Champions [1990] 51 3. HEIMAT 3 - Episode 3: The Russians are Coming [1992-93] 99 4. HEIMAT 3 - Episode 4: Everyone's Doing Well [1995] 145 5. HEIMAT 3 - Episode 5: The Heirs [1997] 186 6. HEIMAT 3 - Episode 6: Farewell to Schabbach [1999] 246 7. HEIMAT 3 – Final Thoughts 282 Discussion group H3 Episode 1 1 HEIMAT 3 - Episode 1: The Happiest People in the World [1989] From: "Ivan Mansley" <Ivanman dsl.pipex.com> Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 23:33:52 -0000 HEIMAT 3: Part 1: The Happiest People in the World An Introduction: As Hermann and Clarissa make love in his Berlin hotel room we hear from the television the words of a politician, "We Germans are now the happiest people in the world." These words are echoed by Jana, Udo's wife, on the Zugspitze, as she runs and kisses her husband in a moment of great happiness for all the characters, although there is one troubling undercurrent, not yet realised. I just wanted to say right at the beginning that I felt a very happy Englishman when I first saw this episode of Heimat 3 in the spring of 2005 and again during my present viewing in preparation for writing this analysis. Trying not to be too sentimental, I felt great joy at being re- united with Reitz's characters from Heimats 1 & 2, a feeling of huge appreciation for the vividly drawn new characters, and an overwhelming happiness at once again being immersed in Reitz's created world and following his captivating story lines. Critics and analysts may find weaknesses in Heimat 3 compared with the first two film sequences but none are so profound as to wreck or even spoil the achievement of his latest work. At least not in my eyes!! One of the things I love about Reitz's films is the very careful delineation of character. In this first episode of Heimat 3 we are introduced to new East German characters. Clarissa recruits two stage-hands, Gunnar and Udo, from the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, after her concert has been cancelled because of political demonstrations, to rebuild the ruined half-timbered house, the Günderrode house as it is known after Karoline von Günderrode, a German Romantic poet, who was supposed erroneously to have lived there, which she has bought as a "love-nest" for herself and Hermann. Gunnar, played by Uwe Steimle, approaches her in the cafeteria. He is marvellous! He is garrulous, impetuous, chaotic in his private life, often his own worst enemy, and yet he has a heart of gold and is utterly endearing. In the Fleiss interview [F] Edgar Reitz talks of Gunnar as a "highlight" of the whole film and how much he owes to Thomas Brussig, his co-author, in his creation. I heard a marvellous story about the recruitment of Uwe Steimle for the part whilst I was in Germany. He was known for his Honecker impersonations and a friend persuaded him to apply for the part. He performed his impersonation over the telephone to Reitz and was immediately recruited. This may be apocryphal!! Let us follow Gunnar through a number of scenes. When asked by Clarissa if he can work for her and go to West Germany he replies, "Tomorrow?" On the morning of his departure he is quarrelling with his wife, Petra. The apartment is in chaos, all his DIY work is unfinished, his children, Jenny and Nadine have heard it all before, as they sit on the stairs and block their ears. Yet he is shown as a very good father in many ways to his children. He is kind and understanding to them. One of them crawls on to his lap as he demonstrates his piano playing abilities in Mrs Loewe's apartment; he asks one child to say his own name to Reinhold instead of being introduced, although he perhaps frightens little Nadine with his demonstration of the workings of the animal trap. Discussion group H3 Episode 1 2 Our hearts eventually go out to him as he is left alone after his happiness on the summit of the Zugspitze where he does an ironic imitation of Honecker and hoists his green potato bag up the flagpole in a mock patriotic gesture to the now defunct DDR. All the time a love affair has been blossoming between Petra, his wife, and Reinhold Loewe, Hermann's bachelor agent and assistant. Gunnar realises the truth when they belatedly arrive at the foot of the mountain several cable cars later. He drives off, in anger, in his newly acquired ancient yellow Volkswagen and the episode ends with him sitting alone on the scaffolding of the Günderrode house on New Year's Eve, as one desultory firework lights up the sky momentarily above Oberwesel. He has become, at least temporarily, almost a tragic figure. This scene is cleverly juxtaposed with wild celebrations by the populace with a multitude of fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate. Did you notice an echo here that Thomas and Theresia did not pick up? [Huge apologies if I'm wrong!!] We see Gunnar driving his yellow Beetle alongside the train in which his wife and children are travelling with Reinhold. The children are banging on the window and shouting, "I want to be with Daddy". Compare this with the scene in Part 13 of DZH where Hermann is on the train and his wife, Schnüsschen, is driving alongside the train with their daughter in the car. The roles are reversed as it were! Gunnar's friend, Udo, is an entirely different character. He is portrayed by Tom Quaas as having genuine presence and is undoubtedly a leader of men. He is, moreover, sensitive and intelligent. He understands fully why Hermann has returned to his ancestral home and remarks, "You don't need to explain who you are. To them, you were never gone. You were just travelling." And he is spot on, as we have already witnessed. We are shown Hermann walking alone into Schabbach and being greeted by Rudi Molz and a crowd of villagers as if he had just been "gone for a bit". Did you notice the change to black and white from colour just as Hermann draws level with the marker board for Schabbach? Reitz himself has remarked that in Heimat 3 blocks of black and white "only appear when the scenes take off into the sphere of universal validity or contemporary history". [F] Perhaps further comment is required here. Returning to Udo perhaps you noticed him delicately close the door when Hermann and Clarissa are embracing and kissing on the stairs leading to Hermann's old Munich apartment. He does not wish to pry on this moment of passion and intimacy. I also enjoyed very much the scene where Gunnar and Udo make fun of the rather priggish and repressed young Tillmann Becker, another recruit from East Germany who is responsible for the electrics. It might seem a bit cruel with jokes about Tillmann's sexuality but it is not pursued to the bitter end, and Udo is perceptive enough to think that in Tillmann's briefcase is a clarinet and that the young man is a talented musician. We then cut to Tillmann playing a mournful tune on his clarinet and the arrival of Moni and her dog, having come up the slopes from Oberwesel. Another amusing scene involving Tillmann is the one where he is shown rushing to fetch Hermann [Mr.Günderrode as he calls him, not knowing his real name] from the Hotel Schönburg as his house is "floating". His excitement; his naïvety; his desire to impress his new employer, are all beautifully conveyed. As he drives, he becomes quite breathless, blurting out all his educational qualifications and his great experience as an electrician! He really wants this job!! Hermann has to quieten him down. The third East German workman to arrive had been Tobi. Udo had sent for him from Dresden, realising that they needed someone expert in historical reconstruction. Another sign of Udo's good sense! Tobi is remarkable in appearance with thin spindly Discussion group H3 Episode 1 3 legs and flowing red hair. Reitz describes him as "a late East German hippy". [F] However, Tobi is also remarkably skilful. Moments after arriving on the scene of the restoration of the house, he has sent for car and lorry jacks and in a brilliant piece of improvisation raises the house from its foundations so that new ones can be put in. A masterstroke!! The viewer feels the excitement as the house is raised and shares in the happiness of all those involved in the work. What an achievement by Reitz! Build what looks like a ruin for a film and then film it being restored! Tobi does not occupy the screen for much of this episode but he is a wonderfully observed character, as are all the East German workmen; Gunnar, Udo, Tobi and Tillmann. Moreover, Udo is an excellent judge of the characters of others. He tells Tobi, "That's Gunnar. He talks too much but he's a good man." Let us now turn to Hermann and Clarissa. Reitz has remarked, "Hermann and Clarissa are not really the lead characters in the story" [F] but they certainly are the hinges of the plot development in Episode 1. What a handsome couple they make!! Reitz pays tribute to the film's make-up artist, who, not only makes Henry Arnold and Salome Kammer look their supposed 50 years of age, but also makes them glamorous and distinguished.

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