Heidi - Three Years She Grew in Alps

Heidi – ‘Three Years She Grew’ in Alps

"Three years she grew in sun and shower,

Then Nature said, "A lovelier flower

On earth was never sown; 

This Child I to myself will take; 

She shall be mine, and I will make 

A Lady of my own."

- William Wordsworth

Wordsworth's Lucy poems, Thoreau's Walden, Wilde's 'The Selfish Giant'... Ample hyperlinks pop up on the screen of my mind when I wish to put in black and white an amazing movie-watching experience I had this evening.

In 1948, national leaders of India and Switzerland signed a trity of friendship and cooperation in the realms of research, agriculture, aesthetics etc. To celebrate the 70th Friendship Day of these two beautiful countries, the Swiss Ambassy in India has initiated a nation-wide open for all film-viewing program called 'Swiss Films on Wheels' under which Ahmedabad got a privilege to watch an enchanting swiss film called 'Heidi'. It is a step in the direction of heralding values like mutual acceptance and coinhabitation, piety of innocence and value of Nature.
Mr. Chintan Pandya, the pioneer of Fanatika - an Ahmedabad based group for theatrical activities invited me to watch this film and I thank this respected friend for a cherishable experience. 

Heidi - a cute, little, innocent but orphan girl lives with her aunt who then shifts her to her grandfather's home in the countryside. No.... wait, I must avoid spoilers here but to say the least - her life swings just like a pendulum between two extremes - absolutely authentic, soothing, natural life in countryside and artificial, smothering, unnatural life in urban areas. Through Heidi's life shuttling between two polar opposites, the filmmaker has showcased the massive and worldwide diasporic shift from rural life to urban life and the price that we pay for it - loss of innocence and childlike curiosity. Here you don't have to awaken the giant within. Rather you have to awaken the child within. Let it live carefree. Let your childlike nature fly and soar high in sky. Under the disguise of sophistication and civilization, people have turned more pretentious and less transparent, more burdened and less true to life. However, the film at no point sermonizes nor does it become loud, it rather conveys the message subtly. Based on a work of children's fiction with the same title published in 1881 by Swiss author Johnna Spyri, this lovely film brings to us the life of a young girl in her grandfather's care in the Swiss Alps. There have been more than twenty adaptations of the aforesaid book worldwide which includes films, T.V. Series, stage performances etc.

Frankly speaking, I was a little apprehensive about the film while going there due to a pre-conceived notion that watching a film in Swiss German language with English subtitles would divide my attention between scenes and subtitles, marring the charm. Luckily, my conjecture was proven wrong (as was the case with an amazing Marathi film 'Natsamrat').

But what's so special about this film?

It has an inexplicable emotional appeal to one's heart (if one has something more than just a blood-pumping device on the left side of the chest.). The girl is accustomed to live in the lap of Nature with apparently harsh but affectionate company of her grandpa. It is an absolute bliss to see her running with her arms stretched on the lush green slopes of mountain. Goats and swan are her companions, grumpy grandpa (who looks like Santiago of The Old Man and the Sea) is her caretaker, Peter - a raw and rustic but believably innocent goatherd is her friend and above all - NATURE is her world.

                                         (Heidi with her best buddy Peter)

                          (Heidi with her beloved Grandpa)

However, the season of ecstasy does not last long for her. When she is shifted to a high-profile, rich, urban family in Frankfurt as a companion of a differently abled girl.... Oh, wait! I must not spill the beans. Right? Let's construe various aspects of the film. To begin with dialogues, there isn't much use of flowery language, irony, punches etc yet there are some statements which would reverberate in spectator's mind even after going home. Such as,

"You have to make a choice between whether to believe your eyes and ears or to believe what people say."

"If you get joy in doing something, you just have to do it regardless of what people say."

Cinematography is a plus point of the film. The way the camera captures various locations is appealing - be it goats grazing the grass on hillside or an eagle hovering in the sky or the hustle and bustle of market in the city. Although there isn't any song in the film, the background score is perfectly in harmony with the tone and ambience of the film.

Plot construction is quite coherent except a few scenes in the second half where fantasy eclipses realism and hence it makes some happenings unconvincing. However, considering holistic appeal and genre of the film, such anomalies can be given benefit of doubt.

Performance is one of the most potent elements of the film. Heidi is a sweet little girl with 24 carate pure smile and pious heart, grandpa is an angry old man with a tender heart, governess of Klara is a typical, snobbish lady... - all thanks to the effortless performances of actors. So casting plays a vital role in the success of the film.

Is there any symbolism in the film? Yes. An eagle flying high in the wide open sky and Heidi mimicking it, signifies freedom that Heidi and even Klara yearn for throughout the film. Roughly speaking, the eagle appears thrice in the film:-

At the beginning (Heidi on the mountain)

At the middle (Heidi in the city)

At the end (Heidi again in the countryside)

This signifies a remarkable symmetry of the plot construction. When Klara secretly brings home three kittten which she bought from the market, her governess is panicked. Her bewildered behaviour and allergic sneezing represent her extreme detachment from Nature. Large gates of home are heavily bolted blocking rain or dead leaves or even a breeze entering home. Heidi's frequent attempts to open up windows can be interpreted as Nature knocking the doors of people living life of pretentiousness in urban areas. Recurrence of goats, swan, eagle, kitten etc underline the contrast of countryside v/s urban life. No wonder why Heidi sleepwalks and dreams of grandpa and eagle when she is in the golden cage of Klara's home. Her angst as a misfit to aristocratic life and yearning for home reminds me of Ishan Avasthy at the boarding school in the film 'Taare Zameen Par'. As Wordsworth said:- "Child is the father of the man.", Heidi - Nature Personified - plays catalytic role in transforming lives of surrounding characters. Whether it is grandfather or Klara or Peter - the Midas touch of Heidi rejuvenates every life. Her goodness, tenderness, selfless acts, love for the living beings etc make the eyes moist and at the end of the film, we carry home a little bit of Heidi in our hearts.

To sum up in just one sentence:- Watching 'Heidi' feels like someone gently brushing a feather of peacock on our cheeks. Period. 

                                                                  

            -       Dr. Jay Mehta

            Written on 10-11 March 2018