When, in the middle of the 19th century, famine, poverty and despotism oppressed the people of Europe, hundreds of thousands immigrated to distant South America. “You can find something better than death everywhere,” was their hope and bitter realisation. Against the background of this unforgotten drama, Edgar Reitz chronologically unfolds the story of longing in his new feature film HOME FROM HOME. The fictitious village “Schabbach” is once again the setting and universe. Here, we witness the story of two brothers who realise that only their dreams can save them in their village.

Jakob, the younger brother, leaves all the limits faced by a farmer’s boy at the time behind him. He reads any book he can get his hands on, studies the languages of the indigenous peoples, designs plans for the most romantic adventures in the jungles of Brazil and describes his departure from Hunsrück in an amazing diary that not only reflects his own story and thoughts, but also the life of an entire period. Everybody who meets Jakob is drawn into the vortex of his dreams: his parents, plagued by hardship and labour, his combative brother Gustav, and most of all the pretty Jettchen, the daughter of a poverty-stricken gem cutter, and her best friend Florinchen, a sweet girl longing for love. What could be more beautiful in this barren farmer’s world than following Jakob's stories and making plans for a happier life beyond the ocean with him? The young people's longing is always on the verge of dissipating: due to the ignorance of the time, illnesses, death and natural disasters that permeate the country. The family is on the brink of disintegrating under the burden of fate's blows. Margaret, Jakob's mother, bore nine children, only three of whom survived. Ice and snow destroy the harvest in the middle of the summer; hunger causes people to die of tuberculosis. There is only one saviour: the dream of a better world. Jakob's dreams are of adventures, all that is foreign, freedom in the wilderness of South America. His brother Gustav's return from the Prussian military provides the impetus for events that abruptly shatter the love between Jakob and Jettchen and push Jakob's life in an entirely unexpected direction.

The film recounts the exodus of German farmers and craftsmen to the New World with grand, historical images. Endless lines of overloaded horse-drawn carts cross mountains and valleys leading to the Rhine to get to the harbours, from where the boats depart into the unknown. A farewell for all times, a departure without return, people in search of happiness in a different country, a home away from home. European history, a forgotten truth, a story of courage and faith in the future. Jakob writes in his diary: What could be nobler than looking for a way out of the injustice and cold together? For everything, except the heart's wisdom, could be lost and sink in the sea during a storm.

HOME FROM HOME was shot at original locations in Hunsrück, and a lot of work was involved in constructing the sets and historic props. Supported by the local population between the Rhine, Mosel and Nahe rivers, the film follows in the footsteps of the now world-famous HEIMAT TRILOGY and opens up a cinematic panorama on the life of poor people and their longing for justice.

Production Country

France (FR), Germany (DE)

Production Period

2011-2013

Production Year

2013

color

color + b/w

Aspect Ratio

1:2,35

Duration

Feature-Length Film (61+ Min.)

Type

Feature Film

Genre

Drama, History Film

Topic

Colonialism, Migration / Flight / Exile, Precarity

Scope of Rights

Nichtexklusive nichtkommerzielle öffentliche Aufführung (nonexclusive, noncommercial public screening),Keine TV-Rechte (no TV rights)

Licence Period

31.12.2027

Permanently Restricted Areas

Germany (DE), Austria (AT), Switzerland (CH), Alto Adige, Liechtenstein (LI), French Guyana (GF), Guadeloupe (GP), Martinique (MQ), Mayotte (YT), Reunion (RE), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (PM), BL, France (FR)

Available Media

Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Blu-ray Disc

Original Version

German (de)

Blu-ray Disc

Subtitles

German (full), English (en), French (fr), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Italian (it), Indonesisch (id), Czech (cs)

DVD

Subtitles

German (de), English (en), Spanish (es), French (fr), Portuguese (Brazil) (pt), Italian (it), Indonesisch (id), Czech (cs)

Blu-ray Disc

Subtitles

Lithuanian (lt)

• Die andere Heimat - Chronik einer Sehnsucht
• Edgar Reitz
• Trailer