Grün ist die Heide

In the 1970s much of traditional German cinema was dying due to the advent of colour television. Some of its genres would not be missed at all, in particular the "Heimatfilm" (nostalgic back-to-basics films, set in some rural part of German-speaking central Europe) and the "Schlagerfilm" (films featuring some pop-singers in leading roles, but with a much higher dosage of kitsch than the Anglosaxon variety) have few fans, at least few who would openly admit to that.

This film threatens a combination of both genres, with Roy Black holidaying in the Lüneburger Heide. We certainly get to see lots of heather (heather=Heide) and although the plot does not give Roy any occasions to subject us to his corny songs, he does it anyway, at random. As usual, Roy's acting ranges all the way from soft-spoken, slightly grinning charmer to slightly grinning, soft-spoken charmer. Thankfully, the plot does not require much more than that, although a few moments of self-irony would have helped a lot.

Roy certainly does not deliver on that front, but I have the sneaking suspicion that director Reinl was deliberately mocking the genre conventions of the Heimatfilm by including exceedingly long journeys through the heather-covered landscape. This was too subtle to be picked up by the film's target audience (who aren't used to irony), but perhaps meant as a hint at the producers to spare him from projects of this kind in the future.

The mood of the film moves between comedy, romance, and a touch of melodrama. The melodrama appears half-hearted and phony, the romance fails to click due to a lack of chemistry (and lack of acting) between the leads, and thus only the comedy elements remain watchable. They benefit from being in the hands of the much more capable support cast, especially scene stealers Henry Vahl and Agnes Windeck.