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Product Description
In Thirties Austria, a group of seven peasants are amazed when, following the murder of their farmer landlord, they discover that he has left them all his land in his will. Resisting the bullying attempts of the foreman to make them sell up, the small group set about tending the land themselves, led by Lukas (Simon Schwarz). The local landowners resent the peasants' efforts, however, and hatch a plot to bring them down.
From the Back Cover
When a cruel and merciless farmer is murdered, his last will and testament discloses an ironic gift. To everyone's astonishment, the old man leaves his land to the peasant workers he constantly humiliated. Rather than sell the land to a tyrannical rival farmer, the strong - willed labourers decide to keep it for themselves. Their bold decision threatens to disrupt the rigid social order of their town, but not before secrets are revealed and lives changed forever.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Nicholas Casley
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This tale of a farm being inherited by the peasants who worked it following the death of its owner has its comic moments. These include the reading of the will, and the burial of the little-loved owner. But what first appears as a comedy ends as a tragedy. The world might be turned up side down in the great cities of Europe in the early years of the twentieth century, but not in rural Austria. This is a time of transition in the rural community from a society dominated by the big farmers and the church, but the powers-that-be won't take radical change without a fight.
Originally there are ten peasants who inherit, but quickly this is reduced to seven, and thereafter, one by one, each is bought off or frightened into walking into the sunset. Lukas, one of the leaders says that when he was a peasant life was east: it was work, sleep, eat; but now life is more complicated.
Filmed in the Muhlviertel of upper Austria (that is, north of the Danube - this is hardly, then, an Alpine western, as the blurb announces), this is a morality tale with a tragic ending. The soundtrack consists of the melancholy of Satie's piano pieces or the passion of Caruso's rendition of Verdi's `La Donna e Mobile': alas, it is the former that is heard more often than the latter.
Beautifully shot, finely acted, I first saw this movie on BBC4 and have been searching for it on DVD for a long time. It repays repeated watching.
Originally there are ten peasants who inherit, but quickly this is reduced to seven, and thereafter, one by one, each is bought off or frightened into walking into the sunset. Lukas, one of the leaders says that when he was a peasant life was east: it was work, sleep, eat; but now life is more complicated.
Filmed in the Muhlviertel of upper Austria (that is, north of the Danube - this is hardly, then, an Alpine western, as the blurb announces), this is a morality tale with a tragic ending. The soundtrack consists of the melancholy of Satie's piano pieces or the passion of Caruso's rendition of Verdi's `La Donna e Mobile': alas, it is the former that is heard more often than the latter.
Beautifully shot, finely acted, I first saw this movie on BBC4 and have been searching for it on DVD for a long time. It repays repeated watching.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars
8 reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
I liked It
15 Mar 2002
By "valeska_"
- Published on Amazon.com
I'm sorry to see this film derided so much, although not superb....it isn't THAT bad.
The plot---A mean farmer who delights in humiliating the people who work his farm, is murdered...(the murderer, later is revealed) They are amazed when the farm is willed to them, and they undertake it. Although they aren't perfect, and they have and develop problems with each other. Lukas and Emmy are involved with each other, and Severin is a very quiet young man, who always looks in a state of disarray, especially his hair.
The question of why the farm is left to them, is puzzling, but that is also revealed... Their biggest problem is the cruel villagers, who don't like the fact that the land was left to them, and that they refuse to sell it....it ends tragically, for everyone, but I felt a little hopeful with the last scene of Severin and Emmy.
I think it should also be cautioned, that it does contain a rape near the end...
Over all...not bad....I've seen it twice, I've bought it, and will watch it again..
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worthy of a viewing.
9 Jan 2000
By sauerkraut
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
The Inheritors was a fairly decent movie. I do have to admit that it's not very upbeat most of the time though. The film's plot deals with a farmer that is murdered, and a will is found in his house that surprisingly states that his land be left to the peasants that work on the farm for him. Instead of selling the land to a neighboring farmer that's greedy, the peasants decide to keep it and become farmers themselves to the dismay of certain people. The plot gets much deeper from there. I had to watch The Inheritors more than once to completely understand what I had missed during my inital viewing of it. The story, acting, music, and cinematography are pretty good. Lars Rudolph (one of the peasants named Severin who becomes a farmer) does a good job in his role and can be seen in Run Lola Run too. This film is Austrian with German dialogue. The Inheritors isn't one of my favorite movies, but I still think that it's pretty good and worth a watch.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The film brought to life the hard life of peasants
25 Jan 2004
By Linda Linguvic
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
This film is set in rural Austria and tells the story of what happens when a cruel farmer is murdered and it is discovered that he has bequeathed his farm to his workers. Of course there's conflict, lots of conflict. The other farmers in the area hate them and force them to pay high taxes to keep the land. There are conflicts between the seven peasants themselves who have never owned anything in their lives. And there's a mysterious woman with a secret who's going to be executed for murdering the farmer.
This film brought to light how hard the life of a peasant was. They worked seven days a week at backbreaking labor and were virtual slaves to the farmer. It was a horrible life compared to that of the farmers around them. In German, with English subtitles, the film is in color but it may as well been in black and white because the story is such a dark and dismal one. There's a bit of humor but it does nothing but underscore the horrible lives that these people led. Of course there's a ray of hope when they inherit the land, but they are naive to think that their culture would let them live in peace.
The tale is centered around a young man named Lukas who romances the three young women peasant women on the farm, most notably Emily, who is a fiery and outspoken advocate of their land ownership. There's also another young man, an older woman and a stable boy on the farm and each is well developed with distinctive personalities. There's a lot of violence and some very sad moments. I was depressed throughout. This has nothing to do with the quality of the film which dealt with some important themes.
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3.9 out of 5 stars
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