Value Orientation by Herta Müller on the Example of the Film Journey of Hope by Xavier Koller

Abstract

The film Journey of Hope by Xavier Koller (1990) tells the story of an immigration  struggle of a Turkish family from Maras (Eastern Anatolia) for a better life in  paradisiacal Switzerland. Switzerland is a country where Haydar and his family  can find happiness. Haydar, his wife Meryem and one of their children Mehmet Ali  undertake a dangerous journey from Maras to Switzerland in order to make this  life possible. The topographical barriers of the country escalate on the Swiss border  surrounded by the Alps. Even though the immigrants arrive in Switzerland, this Journey of Hope for a happier and better life fails with the death of the child due to the cold of the mountains. Thus, paradisiacal Switzerland turns into the land of  cold and death. We analyze the change of Switzerland’s international image and its role as an isolated country from the spatial point of view  in this article. The article also tries to answer the questions as to what extent the value orientation of the characters changes  and to what role the tragedy increased by the death of the child plays for this value orientation, which is also criticized by  Herta Muller in her essay The Fish in the Gym. Herta Muller, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2009, criticizes  in her essay, how the director who touches on the refugee problem uses the death of the child as an instrument.