Josef Rödl

A primary school teacher wants to assert his right to his homeland and encounters the stubbornness of civil servants, while a social worker becomes a "marriage counselor" and has dubious experiences with the authorities.

Following a man's confession of the murder of a prostitute and the arrest of an innocent man, a Catholic priest finds himself in a profound moral dilemma because he is bound by the seal of confession. In order to help the wrongfully arrested man, the priest takes up the investigation and puts himself in great danger.

This is the story of Agnes and her gradual adjustment after the trauma of being raped when she was a little girl. Agnes has an admirer, Adi who lives on the next-door farm, and their families hope the two will one day marry. Although Adi has fallen in love with Agnes, she is indecisive about her own feelings for him and besides, she is plagued by nightmares that prevent her from having a normal relationship. Then one day her family's barn burns to the ground and a young boy who was infatuated with Agnes dies in the blaze. Since some villagers feel Agnes is "cursed," she eventually opts to leave the village and stay with a friend in a larger, nearby town. On arrival, she discovers her friend works at a cabaret-style brothel and for awhile Agnes is tempted to sleep with one of the womanizers in the town -- until Adi arrives and she changes her mind. Both Adi and Agnes return to the village, and indications are that there is some hope for their future together.

A man, disabled since an accident at the age of 12 and disregarded as an outsider in the village, fails in his attempt to find a place in the community by marrying a wealthy farmer's daughter.

A man, disabled since an accident at the age of 12 and disregarded as an outsider in the village, fails in his attempt to find a place in the community by marrying a wealthy farmer's daughter.

Albert is being released from a psychatric hospital and goes back to his bavarian hometown. But the people don't accept him and they begin to treat him. The only way out for Albert is suicide.

Albert is being released from a psychatric hospital and goes back to his bavarian hometown. But the people don't accept him and they begin to treat him. The only way out for Albert is suicide.

This documentary takes an entertaining and informative look at the German Heimatfilm phenomenon. The first part examines the history of the genre since the 1950s, while the second part presents crowd favorites of the genre.