Heidi (2016)

Wonderful character development!

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

This is a spectacular family film. In it's original language there is a nuance of multiple languages blending so if you can stand subtitles with the actual voices of the actors I highly recommend it for adults and children old enough to keep up.Things to understand: It's not a modern action children's movie with a defined villain although some actions in the film on the part of some characters can be seen as villainous or dark. The entire movie focuses on real life personality drama rather than mechanized drama.It's not a Disney or typical family film format with unintelligent people characterizations made simple and obvious. While themes are simple enough for children, they are handled in a more subtle real way.It may contain some classic clichés about conditions and illnesses among children which it is up to the viewer to determine the merit of.It's an absolutely beautiful film that seems to portray a real world rather than a polished one which is actually refreshing. Period mud streets and dirty feet with a contrast between simple mountain life and prim proper city life.

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.

Born in Germany, grew up in North America, lived all over Europe, and am a Swiss (Naturalized) and did not know the story of Heidi. My wife said, "don't you remember the cartoons?" Answer: NO.It is an excellent movie and being German (born near Frankfurt) / Swiss dual citizen, I actually truly appreciated its reality and adherence to the people and the land. While others may say, "oh where is this", this movie paid attention to how people were of that time. I was surprised by that.The story itself might not be accurate the the cartoons, but as my wife says, "you know it is a story right?" Well, and here is the thing the movie is very true to the original story, and not the cartoons.Swiss appreciated the movie because they did not use a German dialect throughout the entire movie. They used a true Swiss dialect when appropriate.So does the movie skip? Sure, it does, but it only has 2 hours to cover a complicated story. They decided to focus on the main parts of the original story and did a very good job.

Because of the excellent reviews, I have to admit my expectations for the movie were quite high. Yes it is beautifully filmed and overall enjoyable, but ... It is supposed to be a children movie. I did not once during the entire movie hear either my son or one other child in the cinema laugh and for that the 100 mins are quite long. Of course, the story is not complete, you could not bring it all into a movie. But still, I left the cinema with the feeling, that I did see a cute girl (she could not have been cast better!) which is being pushed from here to there and she can not do much to influence her fate. Luckily it all turns out well in the end. However, I did NOT see the stubborn little girl who is feeding the animals, talking to the trees, rescuing a baby bird, reading to grandmother, saving Schnucki by feeding her only the best mountain herbs and pushing not only Peter but also her own grandfather to be the best persons they can be. I missed Josef - the dog and the general good heartiness of various human characters. Overally they all seemed a little hollow to me. I have to admit, I never read the original book, but this is what I would have expected from my childhood memories about Heidi. I am sorry to say, the movie raised expectations that were not met as far as I am concerned. I am not sure that children will fall in love with that movie in the same way many children still do when they see the old TV series.