Heidi (2016)

That film is one of the most amazing films I've ever watched. Brilliant acting, excellent script, beautiful locations, wonderful soundtrack. The plot is breath taking and I definitely recommend it to everyone! There aren't many films like this nowadays. It's a real gem. A film which is a feast for the soul.

Not everybody knows Heidi. People are taking about their favourite versions, but for me this is the first film and I loved it. Now I'm not going to watch the other versions, because I think nothing would surpass this one. I'll stand by my statement till someone convince me over. This is definitely the Swiss version of 'The Secret Garden', except the garden is so big and not a secret. Hailing from a Himalayan nation, I do love the Alps more for its beauty than the snowy and rocky Himalayas. Last month I saw another film theme related to the Alps called 'Brothers of Wind'. So lately I've been watching some fine films, pure children's films where adults too can have a great time.I think the casting was good, especially the little girl in the title role. She has given her best despite no prior experience in the acting. So whenever I remember this film in the future, her trademark smile as Heidi is the image I'll be seeing. This is the best family film with an awesome story. It might not make sense compared to the real world, certainly not to be considered as a fairytale. Not just because it has no magics, but it is comparable to Disney films. Very cheerful narration with a steady pace. Blending background score and equally matched greenery locations to the story, overall everything worked in its favour.The film was based on a century old Swiss children's book of the same name. The film runs for nearly a two hours. The story of a young girl named Heidi, who lost both her parents and now she is left in her grandfather's custody who lives high in the Alps. She finally finds a place where she can be happy, but not for a very long. One day her aunt comes back to take her to another house where she will be accompanying a wealthy girl, Klara. After sometimes, the time comes to choose between her new friend Klara and the happy life back in the Alps with her grandfather. How the rest of the story shapes up is the another excellent half with a beautiful conclusion."People like saying nasty things. You have to decide whether to trust your own eyes and ears or what other people say."The film opens and ends with showing an eagle and we know that the Alps' magnificent creature which depicts the Heidi's life in the human form to go all the struggles to be free one day to soar high under the blue sky. But when she was refused by her aunt and followed by her grandfather, that is the moment anybody with the light heart would end up very sad for the inhumane treatment on a little innocent child. The adult might take it differently, but this film is for children and those who love children as the punchline says from the original book cover.Felt like I knew the story, but not really, except I was familiar with similar themes. Even though, pretty predictable and I did not care, but just enjoyed it. Despite all the issues, Heidi was not portrayed in the very harsh conditions. There are some evil characters, but not so terrifying as one from 'Cinderella' story or any other similar. This screenplay might be altered, but I don't know the original material to confirm that. This is a film for families, so the contents from it was balanced to fit on that.I think the director did his part so well and so the actors from the front of the camera. The cinematography was another highlight of the film. The camera angles totally caught my attention and I never stopped to admire the great Alps. The final scene in the film where Heidi runs by stretching her hands mimicking the eagle on the mountain along the goat herd, she stops suddenly and turns back to give a cute smile, you definitely don't want the film to end. But obviously you can re- watch like I did because it's well worth. I have not seen many Swiss films, but this is one of the best from that part and surely I won't end my review without recommending it to all.9/10

I was skeptical the first time I saw that Heidi was going to be adapted into a movie again since I grew up with the animated series on television and I remember it even today but this movie surprised me.You can feel how much the movie team wanted to make a movie that people knowing the original would love.Heidis actor is a wonderful girl. I could barely imagine anyone who would fit the role better than her. Klara and every other actor fit their role and play them with a lot of charm.The pictures in the movie are beautiful. You can almost feel Heidis love for them when she is in Frankfurt and how much she misses them. The movie is well shot and has a wonderful and catching score which contributes to the overall positive mood of the movie.I am glad they got to put every big plot point in the movie. Especially Klaras arc later in the series. We get a wonderful ending and in the end a wonderful movie for kids and fans of the originals.

"Heidi" is a new German(-language) film that brings back Johanna Spyri's title character to the big screen, a little girl who discovers how much she loves live at the countryside/in the mountains. Unfortunately, her aunt(?) who took care of her after Heidi's mother's death is not exactly a great talent in terms of upbringing and literally sells her to a family in the city of Frankfurt, who are looking for a companion for her wheelchair-bound daughter. It certainly is a tough decision who's worse: Fräulein Rottenmeier or Dete? These two sure make Heidi suffer a lot. This movie here has quite a few big names in terms of German cinema: Schüttler, Haase, Mehmet, Lohmeyer are all well-known here and then of course there is Bruno Ganz, who is a big star abroad as well.However, let's not forget the child actors. I thought the trio did a good job. They all showed that they have talent in terms of acting and that they were deserving to play major characters in such a big film. Nice choices by the casting directors. The story is good as well. I must say that the emotional moments could have needed better elaboration sometimes, like Öhi growing closer to Heidi or when Klara suddenly is able to walk at the end. Then again, this is all seen and displayed through the eyes of children and for them it's more about discovering something new than about feeling something. And it's certainly not that they were free of all emotion, just a case of "is good, but could have been great". There are also funny moments in there. More severe scenes like Peter beating the goats or destroying the wheelchair are mitigated by the "sharing cheese and ham" talk and the boy's guilty conscience.The movie runs for roughly 105 minutes which is fairly long for a kids movie, but nothing that breaks records or anything. If your kids have the attention span, this film is certainly worth a watch. Maybe my lack of emotional response also has to do with me living in cities for my entire life. People who lived in the countryside or even in the mountains may respond even more positive to this film than I did. Of course, I still managed to enjoy the beautiful scenery and animals in here in the first and last chapters in the mountains. Good movie. Not among year-best for me, but I recommend it.