''Fly Away Home'' (german: Maikäfer flieg) is a 2016 Austrian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Miriam Unger based on the biographical novel by

Christine Nöstlinger Christine Nöstlinger (13 October 1936 – 28 June 2018) was an Austrian writer best known for children's books. She received one of two inaugural Astrid Lindgren Memorial Awards from the Swedish Arts Council in 2003, the biggest prize in childre ...

Plot

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

during the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the house of the Nöstlingers in

Hernals Hernals (; Viennese German: Hernois) is the 17th district of Vienna, Austria (german: 17. Bezirk, Hernals). Hernals is in northwest Vienna.Statistik Austria, 2007, webpagestatistik.at-23450. Wien.gv.at webpage (see below: References). It was anne ...

is hit during air raids and is badly damaged. The mother of eight-year-old Christine therefore accepts the offer of Mrs. von Braun, the widow of a

National Socialist Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

, to move with her two daughters to a

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

in Neuwaldegg, while the grandparents stay in the bombed apartment. Christina's father as a soldier of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

is heavily wounded in his legs. He deserts from the hospital with shrapnel fragments in his leg, and returns to his family. As a

deserter Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

he has to hide from both German and Russian soldiers. After the capitulation of the Wehrmacht, Russian crew members quarter themselves in the villa. While most are afraid of the soldiers with their unpredictable nature and their constant drunkenness, Christine befriends the Russian field cook Cohn. Cohn brings Christine to her grandparents in a horse-drawn cart, and promises to pick her up soon to bring her back to the mansion, but he does not show up anymore. Instead, she is picked up by her father as Cohn was arrested because he is considered a deserter. After the departure of the Russians, the Nöstlingers move out of the villa.

Cast

* Zita Gaier - Christine *

Ursula Strauss Ursula Strauss (born 25 April 1974) is an Austrian actress. She is best known for her role as Inspector Angelika Schnell in the television series ''Schnell ermittelt''. Strauss was born in Melk Melk (; older spelling: ) is a city of Austria, in ...

- Mother * Gerald Votava - Father *

Konstantin Khabensky Konstantin Yurievich Khabensky, PAR (russian: link=no, Константин Юрьевич Хабенский; born 11 January 1972) is a Russian actor of stage and film, director and philanthropist. From 1997 he was part of the Saint Petersbur ...

- Cohn * Paula Brunner - Sister * Krista Stadler - Grandmother * Heinz Marecek - Grandfather * Bettina Mittendorfer - Mrs. von Braun * Denis Burgazliev - Major *

Ivan Shvedoff Ivan Shvedoff (russian: Иван Шведов; born 21 September 1969) is a Russian actor. Biography Shvedoff was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the Russian SFSR. Shvedoff first started his acting career as a theater actor in the ...

- Sergeant * Lissy Pernthaler - Soldier Ludmilla * Hilde Dalik - Archangel * Alexander Jagsch - Forstrat

Production

The shooting took place from June to August 2015 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

and

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

. Konstantin Khabensky had to learn his lines phonetically for his German speaking role as he did not know the language.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2016 war drama films Austrian war drama films Films based on Austrian novels Austrian World War II films Films set in 1945 Films set in country houses Films set in Vienna Films shot in Vienna 2010s German-language films