Rama Dama

Drama/History, Germany 1991

Munich, shortly after the end of World War II. Young Kati (Dana Vávrová) is struggling to get by as a rubble woman with two daughters. Her husband Felix (Johann Schuler) is still considered ‘missing in action on the Eastern Front’. Hope of seeing him again fades with each passing day as Kati waits at the train station for the war veterans to return home. Only her cousin Leni tries to cheer up the young mother and give her some joy in life – for example, at the dance parties held by the American GIs. Then one day, Kati meets Hans (Werner Stocker), a returning ex-soldier. He moves into Kati's backyard, makes himself useful, and lovingly cares for the children, increasingly taking on the role of their father. Eventually, Kati can no longer resist her longing for security and human closeness. But then Felix returns from the war... “Rama dama” is Bavarian and means “let's clear up” – a slogan of hope that motivated the people of Munich to rebuild their city after the war. "Director, screenwriter, and cinematographer Joseph Vilsmaier follows up his novel adaptation Herbstmilch (Autumn Milk), which he also realized with his wife Dana Vávrová and Werner Stocker in the leading roles, with this opulent piece of narrative cinema. Vilsmaier once again achieved what other German filmmakers failed to do: he made a Heimatfilm without any shallow Enziangeruch or banal lovey-dovey dialogue. Vilsmaier deliberately avoided long dialogues and instead relied on emotional imagery. ‘Heimat,’ he once said, ‘is the biotope of every human being.’" (prisma.de)
103 min
HD
FSK 6
Audio language:
German

Awards

Bavarian Film Awards 1991 Best Production Joseph Vilsmaier
Bavarian Film Award 1991 Best Music Enjott Schneider

More information

Sound Design:

Hans R. Weiss

Cast:

Dana Vávrová (Kati Zeiler)

Werner Stocker (Hans Stadler)

Johann Schuler (Felix Zeiler)

Ivana Chýlková (Leni Seiffert)

Renate Grosser (Frau Klawuttke)

Janina Vilsmaier (Marie Zeiler)

Theresa Vilsmaier (Theresa Zeiler)

Thekla Mayhoff (Rosi Wimmer)

Original title:

Rama Dama

Original language:

German

Format:

16:9 HD, Color

Ratings:

FBW "valuable"

Age rating:

FSK 6

Audio language:

German