Herbstmilch

"Herbstmilch" (Autumn Milk) is an unsentimental though very touching movie about this woman growing up in the German-countryside-reality before and during the second world war.

The book, this movie is based on, is the biography of Bavarian peasant woman Anna Wimschneider. As oldest daughter in the family, she has to take over responsibility for her 5 younger siblings and the complete household including two older brothers and her father, after her mother passed away, giving birth to the youngest child. That time Anna is only 8 years old.

Ten years later, against the will of both families, she marries Albert Wimschneider shortly before WW2 and becomes peasant women. Instead of the younger brothers and sisters, she now has to care about some nasty old relatives and a mother in law who hates her. During the war she has to do all the field work on top, even while she is pregnant.

This movie shows in a touching and never sentimental way every day struggle in the 30/40th in the German country. Anna never entirely looses faith and she even keeps and lives her own little romantic corner of her heart.

Beside real Anna Wimschneiders appearance during the end-titles of the movie, her real husband Albert Wimschneider plays the role of one of his own old uncles. The role of Albert Wimschneider is played by talented and very handsome actor Werner Stocker who was forecast to have a great career but sadly died of cancer in 1993. Anna Wimschneider, who also died only a few years after the movie was released, is played by Dana Vávrová. She is married with Joseph Vilsmaier, director of the movie. She had met him the first time, when he was cinematographer for the German TV-mini series "Ein Stück Himmel" where she played the leading role, when she was 15.

"Herbstmilch" gets released on DVD in July (2004).