08/15 - In der Heimat (1955)

A reasonable ending.

The trilogy was definitely worth watching. Also for people who have nothing to do with literature. It paints a picture of how the Germans themselves experienced the Second World War.

2.5 *

Translated from Dutch · View original

And with my father for the third and final part. And of course he was already mentioning all kinds of names and events and we were very curious about the outcome where he talked about escaping from 'the cauldron'. But part 3 turned out to be anything but that and was even a bit disappointing.

Because Russia and Stalingrad are already far out of the picture and this time we find the enemies mainly in the Germans themselves and the Americans, in which we encounter certain dilemmas such as the cause that is still being fought for, the meaning of everything, and especially the separation, distrust and hatred between Wehrmacht and SS. The film therefore mainly focuses on an image of disorder, every man for himself, profiteers and court-martial in the field, in other words, it is a disgusting mess in itself. There is also a fight in passing, which creates a very beautiful scene in the fog. In addition, there is of course the characteristic humor, especially around Kowalski, Lore and Barbara are pleasant to the eye and in that sense the film has a pleasant running time.

But In Der Heimat cannot compete with its predecessors for a moment, because despite the intrigue and deceit, the third part is mainly just very boring. And while much more could have been achieved here, because for a moment they are taking the right path with Schulz, the Volksturm and Hitler Youth in the middle of an already bombed street and it is a shame that they no longer focus on that. But fine, perhaps such a realistic image was still a bit too early and too confrontational. In any case, it doesn't do any good in Der Heimat, which in my opinion is clearly the least of the three.

Translated from Dutch · View original