Heimat Is a Space in Time

Thomas Heise has been working on this film for a very long time. He retraces the story of his family through the upheavals of 20th century German history. The film explores the German landscape, capturing its bare essence. Against this background of a country once divided and now reunified, the narrative of the story of the filmmaker’s family unfolds as if searching for geographical and topographical references. The entire history of Germany is retold in the perspective of a country–the GDR–that no longer exists. A powerful historical essay and an unprecedented cinematic achievement. Shot in a stark black and white, the film is a somber rethinking of the concept of homeland and identity but also a deep exploration on grief, sorrow and the ways through which the past memory is transmitted to the new generations. The precise framing and the powerful use of the voice-over suggest new meanings of space and memory. As critical and political as it is personal, Heimat Is a Space in Time is a powerful statement against oblivion and whitewashing. 

Giona A. Nazzaro

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