Catherine the Great: Husbands, Lovers and Sons
A house. A shelter. A man, the last one left in the old homeland. A woman who returns to her old community every year. The daughters and husband who have lost all traditions. A rapper who raps in the…
Catherine the Great: Husbands, Lovers and Sons
A house. A shelter. A man, the last one left in the old homeland. A woman who returns to her old community every year. The daughters and husband who have lost all traditions. A rapper who raps in the ancient language. Hymn From The Hive is the choral story of a family, of people who are learning to change in order not to disappear. Wilhelm is the last Transylvanian Saxon left in the village of Reichersdorf, where his niece Susanna used to live before getting married. In 1990 just after the collapse of Ceausescu regime, Susanna marries Udo, the event is captured by Wilhelm on his camera. Their wedding is the last one to be celebrated between two Saxons in their motherland before the Saxon exodus. After the wedding, the couple flees Romania for West Germany like half a million of Transylvanian Saxons, leaving behind eight centuries of history and a vast beautiful landscape. Fast forward 30 years in West Germany, Susanna and Udo now live with their two daughters. Udo works for a German car constructor; he feels German and his Saxon identity is now a burden. Susanna instead is still deeply connected to her roots; she lives in Germany but belongs to Transylvania. Over the years, their relationship has gone stale. They don't talk to each other's much and no longer spend time together. They haven't taught their native language to their daughters, that feel just as German as their German friends. Keeping the language alive is paramount for an ethnic minority to survive. Georg is a young Saxon, incredibly proud of his identity. He is, in fact, the only Saxon rapper. He hopes with his lyrics to spread the word about his heritage to the young generations to keep it alive and to make them proud of being a Saxon. The dreamlike trend of the film guides the viewer to the rediscovery of an ancient world, crystallized over time. A path that travels from the past into the present and faces a future where a shifting identity can either disappear forever or open up to new possibilities.
Catherine the Great: Husbands, Lovers and Sons
Drama,History
Film Details
A house. A shelter. A man, the last one left in the old homeland.
A woman who returns to her old community every year. The daughters and husband who have lost all traditions. A rapper who raps in the ancient language.
Hymn From The Hive is the choral story of a family, of people who are learning to change in order not to disappear. Wilhelm is the last Transylvanian Saxon left in the village of Reichersdorf, where his niece Susanna used to live before getting married. In 1990 just after the collapse of Ceausescu regime, Susanna marries Udo, the event is captured by Wilhelm on his camera.
Their wedding is the last one to be celebrated between two Saxons in their motherland before the Saxon exodus. After the wedding, the couple flees Romania for West Germany like half a million of Transylvanian Saxons, leaving behind eight centuries of history and a vast beautiful landscape. Fast forward 30 years in West Germany, Susanna and Udo now live with their two daughters.
Udo works for a German car constructor; he feels German and his Saxon identity is now a burden. Susanna instead is still deeply connected to her roots; she lives in Germany but belongs to Transylvania. Over the years, their relationship has gone stale.
They don't talk to each other's much and no longer spend time together. They haven't taught their native language to their daughters, that feel just as German as their German friends. Keeping the language alive is paramount for an ethnic minority to survive.
Georg is a young Saxon, incredibly proud of his identity. He is, in fact, the only Saxon rapper. He hopes with his lyrics to spread the word about his heritage to the young generations to keep it alive and to make them proud of being a Saxon.
The dreamlike trend of the film guides the viewer to the rediscovery of an ancient world, crystallized over time. A path that travels from the past into the present and faces a future where a shifting identity can either disappear forever or open up to new possibilities..