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Johanna Spyri's two books "Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning" and "Heidi: How She Used What She Learned" are among the best-known and best-selling children's books in the world. It is therefore crucial that the spirit of Heidi's novels is embraced. This 26-part children's series, which was co-produced in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, is closely based on the novels and great importance was attached to a realistic portrayal of the living conditions at the time of the story. For me, it is the best and most detailed film adaptation of the story of Heidi, in the spirit of Johanna Spyri's novels.

Johanna Spyri's two books "Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning" and "Heidi: How She Used What She Learned" are among the best-known and best-selling children's books in the world. It is therefore crucial that the spirit of Heidi's novels is embraced. This series is a very free adaptation of the novel. I think Johanna Spyri would be surprised at what has been done with her story here. As a Swiss who is familiar with the mountain world, the Heidi novels and the various film adaptations, I think this is the worst adaptation I have ever seen. As a filmmaker, it's also clear to me that you have to adapt and dramatize things when adapting a novel. But this has been painfully unsuccessful here. I recommend Heidi (1978), which is a children's series co-produced in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with 26 parts from 1978. It is closely based on the novels and great importance was attached to a realistic portrayal of the living conditions at the time of the story. For me, it is the best and most detailed film adaptation of the story of Heidi. If you would like to see a more recent movie version of the Heidi story, I recommend the 2015 film tt700392, which, however, ignores the Christian-accented narrative elements of the original.

Although this is a TV movie, I think the movie tends to be underrated by critics. Through the perspective of Katharina Luther and the story setting, the viewer can discover completely new facets of this time. As the focus is on Katharina, this also gives a new perspective on Martin Luther. There is always a danger with a hero of faith like Luther that you only see the highs. The consequences for Katharina of marrying Martin Luther are shown very well. The inner struggles and challenges in such a marriage are also shown in a true-to-life way. This brings us closer to Katharina, but also to Martin Luther. We can get a better idea of the challenges and fears they and society were exposed to.