Synopsis
Thomas Heise worked on this film, in which he recalls his family history through the upheavals of 20th century Germany, for a long time. The film travels across the German landscape in order to capture its most intimate essence. In the context of a country that was once divided and then reunited, the narration of the filmmaker’s family history is also a search for geographical and topographical references. The entire history of Germany is retraced through the perspective of a country that no longer exists, the GDR.
A word from Tënk
Buried within us in our history, and in history itself, are lingering memories and traces, memories that we can’t understand, that remain closed-off to us. The monumental work upon which Thomas Heise has embarked opens with a red herring, but it’s no Little Red Riding Hood nor a fairy tale. It’s a family saga with multiple ruptures, in which the events of the past century are reflected upon and collide with each other. It becomes a resolute refusal addressed to all those storytellers who tend to transfigure history. Inexorably, it raises the question of the relationship between the past and the present, of knowing whether or not we can learn from it. This film makes a striking statement of impressive beauty that, by creating this space in time, touches the depths of our souls.
Line Peyron
Head of Streaming Service at Tënk, France
