Volker Vogeler’s film Jaider, der einsame Jäger belongs to the tradition of the so-called “Critical Heimatfilm,” which emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of the New German Cinema movement. This genre includes titles such as Der plötzliche Reichtum dr armen Leute von Krombach (directed by Schlöndorff) and Matthias Kneißl (directed by Hauff). In response to student protests against the established culture and politics of the Federal Republic of Germany, there was a growing interest in historical resistance groups. The clichés of the classic post-war German Heimatfilm were systematically inverted: Heimat (homeland) became a space of repression, where feudalism keeps the people in ignorance and exploitation.
Aesthetically, Jaider, der einsame Jäger unmistakably draws inspiration from contemporary Italian westerns: it features a slow narrative rhythm, taciturn characters, stark mountainous landscapes, and meager dwellings for the population. Gottfried John plays the solitary avenger who stands alone against the oppressive authorities, carrying out his plan for revenge against all odds. Contemporary critics were quite taken with the film: “Here, the new German Heimatfilm has emancipated itself from the political parable and from the criticism of this genre and its worldview, evolving into an enjoyable reinterpretation and development. Vogeler has not turned the Heimatfilm on its head, as he claims, but has finally set it upright,” wrote Wolfgang Limmer in the Süddeutsche Zeitung (July 12, 1971).
The DVD release is a long-overdue act, as it provides an opportunity to rediscover and reassess a film that has nearly fallen into obscurity today.