Full Metal Village
Encyclopedia
Full Metal Village is a 2007 documentary film about the lives of the residents of a small village in the German state
of Schleswig-Holstein
, Wacken, in a series of interviews and visual tableaux
as it prepares for the annual Wacken Open Air Festival
. Taglined "Ein Heimatfilm"
, the director Sung-Hyung Cho explores the relationship of the 1,800 resident townsfolk and the brief annual influx of 70,000 metal music enthusiasts who attend the open-air concert.
The slow, cynically irreverent tone of the film lends an air of the absurd to both sides of the proceedings including elderly villagers who confess to have 'heard' that the concert-goers worship Satan, and over-enthusiastic concert-goers headbanging
to the traditional regional anthem
played by a local fire department
band to open the festival.
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, Wacken, in a series of interviews and visual tableaux
Tableau vivant
Tableau vivant is French for "living picture." The term describes a striking group of suitably costumed actors or artist's models, carefully posed and often theatrically lit. Throughout the duration of the display, the people shown do not speak or move...
as it prepares for the annual Wacken Open Air Festival
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
. Taglined "Ein Heimatfilm"
Heimatfilm
Heimatfilm is the name given to a film genre that was popular in Germany, Switzerland and Austria from the late 40s to the early 70s. They were usually shot in the Alps, the Black Forest or the Lüneburg Heath and always involved the outdoors...
, the director Sung-Hyung Cho explores the relationship of the 1,800 resident townsfolk and the brief annual influx of 70,000 metal music enthusiasts who attend the open-air concert.
The slow, cynically irreverent tone of the film lends an air of the absurd to both sides of the proceedings including elderly villagers who confess to have 'heard' that the concert-goers worship Satan, and over-enthusiastic concert-goers headbanging
Headbanging
Headbanging is a type of dance which involves violently shaking the head in time with the music, most commonly in the rock and heavy metal music genres.-Origin:The term "headbanger" was coined during Led Zeppelin's first US tour in 1969...
to the traditional regional anthem
Anthem
The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...
played by a local fire department
Fire department
A fire department or fire brigade is a public or private organization that provides fire protection for a certain jurisdiction, which typically is a municipality, county, or fire protection district...
band to open the festival.