In a wild land
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | In a wild land |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2013 |
| length | 120 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Rainer Matsutani |
| script |
Rainer Matsutani Caroline Hecht |
| production |
Quirin Berg Max Wiedemann |
| music | Karim Sebastian Elias |
| camera | Gerhard Schirlo |
| occupation | |
| |
In a Wild Land is a German western from 2013. The television film premiered on November 3, 2013 in prime time on Sat.1 . It shows the fate of German settlers in Texas in the mid-19th century.
action
The young weaver Mila Hofmann and her husband Mats fight at the forefront of the weavers' revolt in Silesia in 1844. Her husband dies in her arms. He made his wife promise to build a new life in America.
Mila embarks for America with a land document and the hope of freedom. To get to Texas, she wants to join the trek of German settlers to Texas organized by Prince Carl zu Kronach. However, this only works if she hires herself out as a maid to Cecilie and her husband, Colonel Count Arnim von Hohenberg, the leader of the trek. When Cecilie is attacked by her abusive husband, Mila helps her. The colonel is seriously injured and the two women have to flee.
They are captured by the Comanches in the Great Plains . They serve as hostages to the young warrior Buffalo Hump for negotiations with the Texans. Mila settles in with the Comanches and is fascinated by Indian culture and the warrior Buffalo Hump. Cecilie, on the other hand, uses a favorable opportunity to escape.
She manages to return to the trek. But she has to watch how her husband consolidates his power by all means and does not shrink from murder. The peace negotiations between the Comanches and Texans lead to a massacre and the Indians swear revenge on all whites. The German settlers are in extreme danger. Mila and Cecilie mediate between the warring parties and thus ensure that a peace treaty can be concluded between the German settlers and the Comanches.
characters
Arnim von Hohenberg
By marrying Cecilie, Count Arnim von Hohenberg has gained in prestige, but he knows that in his old homeland he will always remain the not quite befitting man of a high aristocrat. Outwardly a determined officer, he relentlessly lets his anger out on his unhappy wife behind closed doors. As the leader of the German emigrant trek organized by Cecilie's uncle Prince Carl, Arnim wants to establish his own sphere of influence in the new world. He pursues this goal ruthlessly. Arnim sees his wife's escape as sheer betrayal - and his particular hatred is for Cecilie's rebellious girlfriend Mila.
Cecilie von Hohenberg
As the niece of Prince Carl zu Kronach, Cecilie grew up as a member of the German aristocracy. The delicate beauty secretly dreams of ideals of freedom - and yet is subject to all the constraints of her social position. Cecilie's connection with the ambitious Count Arnim von Hohenberg has nothing to do with love. She suffers from its coldness and brutality. Only the trip to Texas and her encounter with the rebellious Mila give her the strength to break out of her unhappy marriage.
Mila Hofmann
The young worker Mila loses her husband Mats in the bloodily suppressed uprising of the Silesian weavers. She has no future in her old homeland and so she decides to fulfill Mat's last wish and to emigrate to America. Here she hopes to be able to lead a life without exploitation and oppression. Mila tries to join a German settler trek to Texas. But here too, the pretty widow experiences the same arbitrariness. Mila only gets to know a completely different life when she falls into the hands of the Comanches. Despite being a prisoner, Mila gradually learns about Native American culture - and develops more than just sympathy for the young warrior Buffalo Hump.
Chief Tahmahkera
In conflict with the white settlers, Chief Tahmahkera relies on the words of the young warrior Buffalo Hump. The experienced tribal leader acts wisely and prudently, but even he cannot prevent the situation between his people and the foreigners from escalating.
Buffalo hump
The young warrior Buffalo Hump sees with concern how more and more white settlers are moving into the Comanche territory and claiming the vast country for themselves. And he knows that his tribe can do little against the flood of new people. The encounter with the young German emigrant Mila encourages Buffalo Hump to seek a peaceful solution with the whites. But a first attempt at negotiation with the Texans ends in a massacre.
background
The Adelsverein organized from 1844, the relocation of German immigrants to Texas - with the aim of founding a German colony there. The peace treaty between the German immigrants and the Comantschen is considered a special historic achievement: it is the only contract of its kind that has never been broken by either side. Since Founder's Day in May 1996, on the 2nd weekend in May, the signing of the peace treaty on May 9, 1847 between the descendants of the German settlers and the Comanches has been celebrated with a Powwow in Fredericksburg (Texas) .
The character of Mila is based on Cynthia Ann Parker . The settler's daughter was kidnapped by Indians at the age of nine and lived for around 25 years as a full member of the tribe among the Comanches.
The location for the film was the area around Cape Town in South Africa . Three large sets were erected there for the filming: a Comanche village with almost 20 tents, a small settlement and an extensive fort.
A theme that is taken up more often in the film music is the melody of No beautiful country in this time , a folk song from 1840.
Reviews
The majority of the film received a negative response from the film critics and the public: On Moviepilot , the film was rated by users with an average of just 3.7 out of 10 possible points.
“With In a wild country, Sat.1 is moving on really unfamiliar terrain, and thus only wins in part: Those who want to score points in the most American of all film genres, the western, have high standards. You can score points above all with the audiovisual impressions that are revealed to the viewer. Overall, this does not comfort the somewhat one-dimensional characters and the clichéd story. "
“ In a wild country is not as bad as the GDR westerns or the West German Potato Fritz (unforgotten: Paul Breitner with Hardy Krüger as a potato farmer in the west, 1975), but it reliably fails because of too much kitsch and the unsuccessful attempt to create images of longing of the Karl May films from the 1960s. But at least without Pierre Brice. "
“Can scalping be a sin? The western ham In a wild country uses historical events, but whitewashed them with white-meets-red-lard and lightning marriage in the service of international understanding. You don't want to know which peace pipe the Sat.1 editors pulled. "
"The result was the terrible Schmonzette In a Wild Land , which was drummed across the screens on Tuesday at sunset and can with a clear conscience be described as the slippiest involuntary comedy of the year."
“Yesterday's western, which has its moments despite being naive. - Irony-free homage to Winnetou & Co. "
Web links
- In a wild land in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- www.sat1.de/film/in-einem-wilden-land - Official website
supporting documents
- ↑ Background information on the film on SAT1.de
- ↑ In a wild country on moviepilot.de
- ↑ Quota meter: criticism
- ↑ RP online: Sat.1 tries German westerns
- ↑ Spiegel Online: Sat.1 on the way to the eternal hunting grounds
- ^ Berliner Kurier: Manitu and the gun women
- ↑ TV feature film: In a wild land - film review