Heimkehr (Homecoming) (1928)

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Most of the late silent films of German director Joe May exhibited what one cinema historian has described as "a synthesis of Hollywood and Neubabelsberg." Put in layman's terms, May's later films were assembled with his usual German craftsmanship and eye for impressionism, but with most of the… More Most of the late silent films of German director Joe May exhibited what one cinema historian has described as "a synthesis of Hollywood and Neubabelsberg." Put in layman's terms, May's later films were assembled with his usual German craftsmanship and eye for impressionism, but with most of the audience-pleasing ingredients that would score with American filmgoers. Homecoming (Heimkehr) could just as well have been made by the MGM assembly line as by UFA, but this doesn't diminish its excellence one iota. Set during World War I, the film concentrates on a romantic triangle, utilizing all the "popular" elements within a refreshingly cliche-free framework. The diffused-lens romanticism of Homecoming was not to be found in May's next project, the melancholy "street drama" Asphalt. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi