Coming Out (1989)
(มีบรรยายอังกฤษ)
Directer:
Heiner Carow
Writter:
Wolfram Witt
Running time: 113 minutes
Country: East Germany
Language:
German
Genre: Drama
| Romance
Subtitle:
English
Starring:
Matthias Freihof
Dirk Kummer
Dagmar Manzel
Coming Out is a 1989 film made by the East
German film monopoly, DEFA. Directed by
Heiner Carow and starring Matthias Freihof,
Dagmar Manzel and Dirk Kummer, the film
deals with the process of the protagonist''s
coming out as gay. The film was shot
entirely on location in East Berlin and
includes scenes shot with amateurs in some
of the city''s gay bars and clubs. It won two
awards for its treatment of the issue of
homosexuality at the Berlinale in 1990.[1]
It was the only East German film to deal
directly with homosexuality and was
premiered, in the Kino International, on the
very night that the Berlin Wall came down.
The story revolves around a young
high-school teacher, Philipp Klahrmann, who
during his first day at work collides with a
female teacher, Tanja in one of the school''s
corridors. As a result of the accident Tanja
and Philipp get to know each other and
quickly develop a romance. While going out
with Tanja, Philipp gets dragged into a gay
party and there he gets to know Matthias, a
shy 19-year-old who quickly becomes
interested in Philipp. After they meet again
by chance, Matthias invites Philipp to his
birthday party that evening. After some
hesitation Philipp ends up going and that
night the two of them go back to Philipp''s
apartment and sleep together.
The situation with Tanja deteriorates, as
Philipp becomes more standoffish and
worried, as he begins to come out to
himself. He is forced to come out to Tanja,
after he and Matthias embrace during the
interval at the opera. The hug which they
share is clearly more than that of two good
friends. Matthias is distraught upon
learning that Philipp is married and runs
out of the opera house. Over the next few
weeks Philipp searches for Matthias, until
one night he finds him in a bar with another
man - one of Philipp''s students. Matthias,
obviously still very hurt, pushes Philipp
away.
Following this Philipp goes to the bar where
he and Matthias first met and becomes
aggressive towards an older gay man. He then
calms down and a scene follows in which,
through his tears, Philipp listens as this
older gentleman explains calmly that he
understands what Philipp is going through,
as 50 years earlier, he and his then
boyfriend were arrested by the Nazis.
Following this they were imprisoned in a
concentration camp. In a speech designed to
please the SED and DEFA, the older gay man
explains how the communists helped him
through his struggle.
The film ends with a scene in the classroom,
as the headteacher - who obviously has
discovered Philipp''s sexual orientation -
says that she and a group of teachers need
to observe his classes to see if he''s still
suitable to teach. Philipp is quiet for a
long time and this prompts the headteacher
to say ''Kollege Klahrmann!'' to which
Klahrmann simply replies ''Ja''. Freihof
claims that this single utterance signifies
the recognition, by Philipp, of his sexual
orientation and everything attendant with
it. The film closes with a shot of Philipp
leaving his apartment block on his bicycle. |
