REVIEW: ‘Heimat Is a Space in Time’
Photo: Courtesy of Icarus Films / Provided by press rep with permission.
For those people who can devote more than three hours to the new documentary Heimat Is a Space in Time, an engaging cinematic experience is promised. The unconventional film from director Thomas Heise looks back at the filmmaker’s family and how his relations fared through the turmoils of two world wars, the Holocaust and the Cold War.
It’s a demanding film, no doubt about it. Besides its running time, Heise has the narrative unfold over a meticulous cadence, with images of a varied nature that couple with a voiceover that pores over written letters from three generations of Heise’s family.
There are many names and associations named in these letters, and it takes some time to figure who is who and what is what. However, after a while, it becomes clear that understanding perfectly the ins and outs of the details is secondary. This is an immersive documentary, with the audience asked to follow along as a spectator and not a stenographer.
Without the impetus to follow every minute aspect of the narrative, the audience is able to sit back and let the poetry and power of the piece take their hold — and they do. There is great sorrow and unspeakable tragedy within these stories, but there are also tales of people living and loving.
What’s so disorienting about Heimat Is a Space in Time, which is now available from Icarus Films, is that the director doesn’t always match the visual image with the narration — at least not in obvious ways. Occasionally there are letters read aloud by Heise while images of modern-day Germany are showcased on the screen, and the audience is meant to consider the connective tissue. What does it mean to hear of a romance or a plea for help from decades prior, while simultaneously watching a local pub crowded for a soccer match?
Some of the disconnectedness between the audio and visual can be frustrating, but that may even be intentional on Heise’s part. No matter his convoluted delivery, the filmmaker does seem to be fully in command of his thesis, even if it feels distant at times.
Heimat Is a Space in Time is not for everyone, but for those cinema appreciators who don’t mind their movies a bit long, a bit unconventional and a bit abstract, there’s power to be found in these lessons from lives lived throughout many of the horrors of the 20th century.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Heimat Is a Space in Time (2019). Directed by Thomas Heise. In German with English subtitles. Running time: three hours, 38 minutes. Rating: 
