Austrian HEIMATFILM / homeland film with Marisa Mell and Horst Janson
This film by the former DEFA director Hans Heinrich (1911-2003) was based on a novel by Martha Ostenso and had its premiere on September 22, 1961 in Nürnberg / Nuremberg. What's special is that the numerous exterior shots were shot in Canada, which contributes significantly to the film's good atmosphere.
In a prequel story, we see a young couple in love with their child on the run in 1886 Manitoba. The young man is killed, the child is taken from the woman, and the woman finds shelter in a dark farm building.
The actual action begins about 25 years later. The God-fearing Caleb Gare (Ewald Balser, 1898-1978, native of Wuppertal) rules like a tyrant over his wife Amelia (Heidemarie Hatheyer) and their two daughters Judith (Marisa Mell) and Ellen (Gertraud Jesserer). The girls can only secretly allow themselves small escapes to the village to meet teacher Mrs. Sandbo (Brigitte Horney) and her son Sven (Horst Janson). The bizarre family structure is shaken when a young surveyor named Mark Jordan (Hans H. Neubert) comes to the area. Progress cannot be stopped even by prayers. It soon becomes clear that there is a special connection between Amelia and young Mark. A catastrophe occurs...
The plot is certainly very clear and doesn't offer too many unexpected twists. The strength of this film lies in the beautiful shots of Canada and the exceptionally strong actors. Marisa Mell (1939-1992) and Horst Janson (born 1935) are particularly inspiring as a lover hungry for life. Ewald Balser ("Sauerbruch", 1954) and Brigitte Horney (was in an acting class with Inge Meysel and Lilli Palmer) shine in each of their films. The young Hans H. Neubert (born in 1937) could still be seen in a few films, but after 1967 his trace was lost. Very mysterious! The still very young Gertraud Jesserer (born in 1943) was at the very beginning of her great career. In 1991 she experienced a severe blow of fate. Her son Nikolas Vogel (1967-1991) died as a war photographer in Ljubljana, at the beginning of the Yugoslavian War.
And then of course Heidemarie Hatheyer (1918-1990)! This great tragedy is an integral part of the German film industry. After her beginnings as "Geierwally" (1940), she became Maria Schell's great, but mostly inferior, rival in the 1950s. For example, in "Dr. Holl" (1951), where she had to forego her love affair with Dieter Borsche in favor of Schell. Or in the Berlinale classic "DIE RATTEN / The Rats" (Golden Bear 1955!), where she even wanted to get hold of Schell's (film) child due to her own lack of motherhood. There wasn't a handkerchief left dry. Shortly before her death, Heidemarie Hatheyer could still be admired as a guest star on DIESE DROMBUSCHS / That Drombusch Family. In the ZDF hit series in 1990 she played Herma Hohenscheid, a close confidante and patron of Uncle Ludwig (Günter Strack). As a result, this great actress deservedly received an audience of millions again.
This unusual HEIMATFILM / homeland film is well worth seeing simply because of the footage from Canada!
