Magic Matterhorn (original) (raw)

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1995 Swiss film

Magic Matterhorn
Directed by Anka Schmid
Screenplay by Anka Schmid
Cinematography Ciro Cappellari
Edited by Inge Schneider
Music by Ben Jeger
Release date 1995 (1995)
Running time 87min
Country Switzerland
Languages Swiss German, German, English

Magic Matterhorn (1995) is an essayistic documentary by Swiss director Anka Schmid about the meaning of one's homeland, its clichés and reality. The Matterhorn mountain is the starting point for the portrayal of a part-time farmer from the Swiss mountain village Zermatt, a professional Swiss yodeler in Disneyland, California and the cabaret group called Geschwister Pfister.[1]

In a playful manner the film embarks on the search for contemporary notions of homeland and shows real and surreal worlds. The film was shot in the Swiss tourist village Zermatt at the foot of the iconic Matterhorn mountain as well as in Disneyland in California where there is a copy of the Matterhorn. Anka Schmid confronts concrete living conditions with clichés and is not afraid of the balancing act between philosophical thoughts and kitsch-souvenirs. The Matterhorn serves as a leitmotif. People from Zermatt, tourists from all over the world and a Swiss-American explain their understanding of homeland and their relationship with the mystically superelevated Matterhor mountain. The interviews are accompanied by pictures of the mountain and performances by the cabaret group.[2]

The International Film Encyclopedia describes Magic Matterhorn as an "amusing documentary, which thanks to the juxtaposition of highly diverse viewpoints ended up being very multifaceted but over time is lacking in intensity."[3]

  1. ^ Anka Schmid Archived 2015-01-09 at the Wayback Machine on hierig-heutig.ch
  2. ^ a b Magic Matterhorn on Swiss Films
  3. ^ Magic Matterhorn in the International Film Encyclopedia