Heidi and Grandpa is a German drama film produced by In-Europe Garner Pictures, directed by Alain Guspenner, written by Petra Biondina Volp, and starring Anouk Steffen, Isabelle Ultraman, Anna Shens, etc. The film was released in Germany on December 10, 2015 and Chinese mainland on May 16, 2019.
Adapted from Johanna Sbilee's novel of the same name, the film tells the story of heidi, a naïve and cute little girl who was sent by her aunt to live in the Alps to live with her eccentric grandfather, and she touched and helped those around her with her sincere kindness.
It is worth mentioning that Bruno Gantz, who played the grandfather, is best known for his roles as an angel in "Under the Berlin Sky" and Hitler in "The Destruction of the Empire". In 2010, the 23rd European Film Awards presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Bruno.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > alpine maiden</h1>
The protagonist of the story is a little girl named Heidi. Heidi lost both parents at an early age and was taken care of by Heidi's aunt, Dieter, but her aunt found a very good job and could not continue to take care of Heidi, so she left Heidi to her grandfather who lived in the Alps. Grandpa lived in isolation and lived in a cabin on the side of the mountain. In the original work, because Grandpa did not believe in Christ, the inhabitants of the Alps were quite critical of him.
Grandpa looked stubborn and cold, and there was only one chair in his cabin. When Heidi first arrived in the Alps, Grandpa didn't have a good look for her, but who wouldn't like the cute and innocent Heidi? Grandpa soon built Heidi a chair for her.
Of course, Heidi also made a friend, his name was Peter. Peter was a shepherd boy, and Heidi and Peter, who were close to nature by nature, herded sheep together in the mountains every day. In the morning Grandpa gave Heidi goat milk and prepared cheese jerky, and in the evening Heidi slept on the warm and soft grass and played with Peter. In the spring Heidi plays in the mountains, and in the winter Grandpa makes sleighs for her to play. Heidi and Grandpa's life is gradually on the right track, and the grandfather and grandson get along comfortably and happily.
The good times did not last long, and the aunt tricked Heidi into going to Frankfurt to be a companion of the rich lady Clara. Rich Lady Clara grew up like an angel, gentle and educated, her mother died early, she was unable to walk because of illness, and stayed in the house all day under the supervision of the governess. The governess made a lot of rules, when to sleep, when to eat breakfast are all set out, Clara, who is always trapped in the house, has long been tired of such a boring life, Heidi appears like a stone thrown into a deep lake, and the ripples brought by it crash into the people in the house.
Heidi does not know how to eat etiquette or read, but she is cute and generous, and she is not ashamed of her wild nature, Clara likes Heidi very much, and the two girls soon become good friends.
Heidi's life in Frankfurt is good and comfortable, but Heidi is not comfortable. Here she had to suppress her free nature, but none of that was enough, and with the help of the kind and sensitive Clara's grandmother, Heidi quickly adapted to life in Frankfurt—more importantly, she could never forget the scenery of the Alps, the eagle flapping its wings in her dreams, she missed her grandfather very, very much, but could not leave the lonely Clara, who had already thought heidi's heart to rely on, and her young heart was suffocating with great pain.
The result of Heidi's repression was sleepwalking, and she would sleepwalk every night, leaving the big house, expecting to see the Alps. The kind host family is not very receptive to Heidi's departure from Clara, but Heidi's state is worrying, which eventually makes him choose to let Heidi leave.
Later, Grandma Clara took Clara to the Alps, and Clara, who had been holding back in a luxurious house all day, came to the Alps for the first time in her life, and saw heidi in Frankfurt where she was haunted by her dreams: the white Alps were full of wildflowers and weeds, and the scenery was as beautiful as a dream. She was so new, as if she were a new student, and a surprise happened—Clara's legs actually recovered. The story ends, Heidi and grandpa continue to live happily in the Alps together, and at the end of the film, Heidi smiles brightly at the camera.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" Data-track="13" > hug: each person's unique kindness</h1>
Whether it's the scenery or the storyline, this movie is a beautiful and dreamy romantic story. Maybe there are some small sadnesses and small setbacks in the storyline, but no one in the whole play is a complete villain. Clara's tutor is arrogant and yearning for a good life, and from beginning to end she looks down on Heidi, a pure mountain man, even though Heidi quickly learns to read and etiquette, but she never does anything excessive because she does not like Heidi.
Clara's father is noble and rich in wealth, but he is not arrogant and chooses to take care of Heidi in the midst of lust and Heidi's mental health. There are many such people in the play. They all gave Heidi their unique kindness. But the kindness of these people is romantic, but it is not exaggerated. They treat Heidi so well, also because of Heidi's own sincerity and kindness, heidi has a wonderful sense of healing, and her existence itself seems to convey to others a message that no matter where it is, her spirit will always soar freely.
It is worth mentioning that after Heidi's aunt brought Heidi here in the original work, Heidi's grandfather did not ignore Heidi, nor did he not want Heidi and take her to the priest, heidi and grandpa's life occupies a lot of space in the book. Grandpa's gentle and deep personality is more comprehensive and three-dimensional in the novel.
In the play, Heidi seems to be a child without heart and lungs, and the smile that appears to be cracked at the corner of her mouth looks like there is no haze, but after watching the whole film, people think back to the film clips to feel her caution, in the space outside the Alps, no matter how happy she laughs, this caution seems to have always surrounded her heart.
What exactly did the Alps bring to Heidi? The figure of the eagle that Heidi often fantasizes about on the big bed in Frankfurt can reveal one thing or two: it gives Heidi the freedom to spread her wings like an eagle. The Alps are like a big embrace for Heidi.
When Heidi came to Her Grandfather's cabin, she was actually entangled and careful at first, but after the familiarity, every hug was so kind and comfortable; Heidi, who came to the Alps, took off her heavy skirt and wore her own little white nightgown, and after getting acquainted with her grandfather, she put on the boy's clothes to facilitate shepherding, and when she came to the city, she wore a gorgeous dress, but she finally wore back the little white nightgown and the boy's clothes.
The change of Heidi and Grandpa's embrace, the change of Heidi's skirt, the frequency of these things is like the pace of Heidi's growth, from careful to brisk and determined, there are times of sadness, but in the end it goes smoothly. So comfortable, but also let the viewer feel very relieved and warm, as if witnessing Heidi's childhood.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="21" > Heidi's healing power</h1>
No one has been involuntary. Heidi is involuntary, she lost her parents at a young age, she can only rely on her aunt, and when her aunt can take care of her, she is taken care of by her aunt, and her aunt throws her to her grandfather because she does not want to take care of her because of a good job, and when it is profitable, she cheats Heidi away privately, and her aunt's love is short and light. So later when she met her grandfather, she became free.
Grandpa couldn't help himself. After unsuccessfully going to find Heidi, who had been taken away by her aunt, she was ridiculed for being late again—that's how Heidi's mother had left her grandfather. This has nothing to do with whether they are rich or poor, old or young, and the rich like Clara's family also suffer from involuntary pain, loneliness, illness, and loss. There are too many disappointments in people's lives.
There are a lot of classic lines in the film, and one of Clara's grandmothers is particularly poignant: Heidi said: "Everyone likes me because I want to write stories." "That's because people know so little, and you've seen the bigger world." If you feel that there are things in the world that will make you happy, do it, no matter what others say. "The inhabitants of the Alps have been circling in circles all their lives, most have not seen much of the outside world, and the standard answers given by the teachers of the Alps when asking the children what they want to do in the future are only carpenters.
People's lives will experience too many involuntary things, from before birth to death, we have encountered a lot of things that are difficult to be autonomous in the process of growing up, small things such as little Pete wants to be a shepherd and is ridiculed, big things like Heidi being cheated away, those things that are not invisible enough to see, not enough money to get things, not enough knowledge to recognize the way forward, every kind of naïveté that has not been grown up makes people unable to control their own destiny.
We were all afraid of the foggy things, we couldn't quickly realize what to do and make a choice we would never regret, and we were all as confused as Heidi came to the church in the city but couldn't see even a mountain. Where to go, how to grow. This is what the film tells us through the hand of Heidis.
In general, the beauty of the movie "Heidi and Grandpa" lies in its sincerity in people and scenery. Heidi's lovely natural curly hair and pretty smile are one of the reasons it has infected many viewers, but her sparkling innocent kindness is the most appealing.
Under the situation of involuntariness, she did not complain about herself, she did not go with the flow, was impressed by the good life, and faced every bad environment with a normal heart, which made her lovely and kind, and also let the people around her receive her infection and become more happy and comfortable. It can be said that if you feel lost in your distant dreams, this movie may really heal you.