Directed by:
Heiner CarowScreenplay:
Wolfram WittCinematography:
Martin SchlesingerComposer:
Stefan CarowCast:
Matthias Freihof, Dagmar Manzel, Dirk Kummer, Michael Gwisdek, Werner Dissel, Gudrun Ritter, Walfriede Schmitt, Axel Wandtke, Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss (more)Plots(1)
An ambulance races down the streets of Berlin on New Year's Eve. A young man, Matthias, has taken an overdose of sleeping pills and is wrestling with death. A flashback: an ambitious young teacher named Philipp Klahrmann is well-liked by his pupils and a fellow teacher, Tanja. When she falls in love with him they become a couple. But then Philipp runs into Jacob, an old school friend, who reminds him of their former homosexual relationship. Philipp has been repressing his predisposition for years but can do so no longer. He meets Matthias and falls in love with him. His passionate relationship with this young man puts him in a dilemma. He is fond of Tanja, who is now expecting his child, and does not want to disappoint her. Philip embarks on a painful process of finding himself. Not knowing what to do with himself or how to cope with his problems, he instead alienates everyone else. Upset and affronted, Tanja distances herself from him, and Matthias, who is deeply in love with Philipp, tries to commit suicide. In the end, Philipp manages to overcome his fear of public opinion and comes out of the closet. (Berlinale)
(more)Reviews (1)
Coming Out, as the only East German film to openly address homosexuality, is at first glance compelling for its story and its attempt to portray the conditions and attitudes towards sexual minorities at the time. The film partly succeeds in this, but in many places it comes across as awkward and ambiguous – like the main character Philipp, who suddenly has to come to terms with himself. It feels like a made-for-TV movie in its execution, and while it is groundbreaking, I felt that a more could have been made of it. On the other hand, I must note, in a positive sense, that the plot was funny at times, but whether that was the intention, who knows. One of the landmarks in the field of German cinema, which has unfortunately been somewhat affected by the ravages of time over the years, but still deserves the viewer's attention.
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