Anne Bäbi Jowager, Part 2 - Jakobli and Meyeli

In the Emmental countryside, the Jowäger clan keeps to its routines as good times mingle with trouble. Jakobli and Meyeli are drawn into the family's orbit as neighbors and relatives collide over land, money, and pride. Schnyder's adaptation, drawn from Gotthelf's second volume, follows the way social expectations press on everyone from patriarchs to young lovers, testing loyalties and reshaping old friendships. The humor sits beside frank portrayals of hardship, and romance buds in the margins of village life. What emerges is a portrait of a tightly knit community negotiating the boundaries between tradition and change, without losing its wit. Characters face the moral tests of village life without melodrama, and the landscape acts almost as a character itself. The community's routines and rituals offer a rhythm that keeps the story grounded, even when tensions rise. The result is a film that blends social satire with human warmth, avoiding easy conclusions.

Directed by Franz Schnyder, this 1961 Swiss production reimagines Gotthelf's second volume for the screen, continuing the studio's habit of translating Emmental village life into film. Schnyder keeps the focus on character and social codes.

Reception and themes paragraph: The film blends drama, comedy and romance to show how wealth, reputation, and land ownership shape relationships. It weighs family duty against personal happiness while keeping a steady sense of humor about small town foibles. Strong performances from Margrit Winter and Peter Brogle give texture to the dialogue and the village scenes, inviting patience and attention from viewers.

Within Swiss cinema, the film sits among Gotthelf adaptations that seek to capture rural life with a quiet, humane precision. Its emphasis on community, moral codes, and practical humor has kept it as a touchstone for discussions about tradition and modernization in Emmental storytelling.

Box office data for this 1961 film is not readily available from standard sources. The production is better known for its cast and director than for blockbuster earnings, and it remains a niche piece within Schnyder's body of work.