Home from Home: Chronicle of a Vision

Edgar Reitz brought his lyrical German family saga up to date with Heimat Fragments: The Women in 2006, so in this beguiling drama he delves back into the Simon family's history in rural Prussia in the 1840s - the discussion of migration at a time of economic hardship gives it acute contemporary relevance. At its heart is Jakob (Jan Dieter Schneider), the son of Schabbach's blacksmith, who incurs his father's wrath by studying the languages of Amazonian tribes while dreaming of taking object of his affection Jettchen (Antonia Bill) to Brazil. However, everything changes following a drunken encounter between Jettchen and Jakob's older brother, and a series of misfortunes prompt the newlyweds to emigrate to the New World. Once again, Reitz (this time co-scripting with Gert Heidenreich) places greater emphasis on the storyline than character development, but his exceptional sense of pace and place draw the audience into a daily grind that is re-created in harrowing detail. He is heavily indebted to cinematographer Gernot Roll for his sublime monochrome photography and the masterful production design. But Reitz (who was in his eighties during production) directs with peerless finesse, as he mines authenticity from an inexperienced cast and brings a bygone era to vivid and engrossing life.