Value Orientation by Herta Muller 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.