Radio Heimat - DVD

Film: Bochum, early 80s: The friends Frank (David Hugo Schmitz), Pommes (Jan Bülow), Spüli (Hauke Petersen) and Mücke (Maximilian Mundt) are stuck in the middle of the Pott and puberty. A complicated mixture. But things only get really difficult when they are driven to do all kinds of stupid things by their longing for their first great love and their first sex. Frank in particular tries to find his way to his beloved Carola (Milena Tscharntke) somewhere between a chip shop, dance school and party cellar. But the road to becoming a man is extremely rocky and it takes many a defeat to realize what really counts.

Radio Heimat is based on short stories by Ruhrpott cult author Frank Goosen. But the film is much more than just a charming declaration of love for the Pott. It is also a homage to the 80s and a wonderfully observed story about growing up, friendship and the first great love. However, you don't have to live in the Ruhrpott and have grown up in the 80s to succumb to the wit and charm of this comedy. But if you experienced the music, the terrible fashion and such unavoidable things as party basements that marked this era, or know the endearing idiosyncrasies of the people from the Pott, you will of course enjoy the film all the more.

The young actors are all experienced actors, but still pleasantly unused faces. They all play very authentically and uninhibitedly, which means that the film still retains its charm even in rather weaker moments. Sure, some of the jokes don't quite hit the spot and a few characters are drawn a bit too clichéd. But overall, director and cabaret artist Matthias Kutschmann has succeeded very well in transferring the essence of Goosen's wonderful short stories to the screen with his feature film debut. He has managed to stage many small moments in which one recognizes oneself as an audience member - even if one would rather have repressed the memory of such often rather embarrassing moments from puberty.

Radio Heimat is perhaps not exactly the most ambitious German cinema film of the year. But it doesn't want to be. It wants to be fun for its viewers, to remind them of their own youth and to simply drive everyday life out of the living room for 90 minutes. And that's exactly what this entertaining journey into the 80s does really well. Despite some small weaknesses, there is therefore also a very clear: Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The DVD captures both the 80s feeling, as well as in the flashbacks the feeling of the Swinging Sixties very well. This is especially true of the atmospheric color scheme, which is further aided by good overall sharpness. As for the sound, the good matching of the powerful soundtrack to the dialogue is particularly pleasing. Good!

Extras: The bonus material is also quite entertaining. This applies to the somewhat too short Making of (approx. 12:46 min.), as well as to the interesting as amusing set tour with director Matthias Kutschmann (approx. 10:18 min.). In addition, there are outtakes from the outdoor pool scene (approx. 1:21 min.), from the allotment garden (approx. 0:25 min.), from teacher Hecker's hairstyle (approx. 0:19 min.), as well as mini-impressions of the fun on set (approx. 0:22 min.). Rather negligible are the mini-clips about the hairstyles (ca. 0:32 min.), the styling school of the 80s (ca. 1:02 min.) and the 80s game (ca. 2:41 min.). Then again, the look at the soundtrack footage (approx. 5:16 min.) is clearly more worth watching. Good!

Conclusion: Radio Heimat is a fun, nostalgic and very true to life trip back in time to the 80s. Although there are some small weaknesses in the script and staging, but overall the film can score with a lot of Ruhrpott charm and 80s flair. The DVD transports the very special look of the film very well into the home cinema and can also please with some nice extras. For this there is clearly one: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp