Another Country (1984)

Based on the life of the young Guy Burgess, who would become better known as one of the Cambridge Spies.

Director:

Marek Kanievska

Writers:

Julian Mitchell (screenplay), Julian Mitchell (play)

Stars:

Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Michael Jenn

Nominated for 3 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rupert Everett	...	Guy Bennett
Colin Firth	...	Tommy Judd
Michael Jenn	...	Barclay
Robert Addie	...	Delahay
Rupert Wainwright	...	Devenish
Tristan Oliver	...	Fowler
Cary Elwes	...	James Harcourt
Frederick Alexander	...	Menzies
Adrian Ross Magenty	...	Wharton
Geoffrey Bateman	...	Yevgeni
Phillip Dupuy	...	Martineau
Guy Henry	...	Head Boy
Jeffry Wickham	...	Arthur (as Jeffrey Wickham)
John Line	...	Best Man
Gideon Boulting	...	Trafford

Storyline

Based on the award winning play by Julian Mitchell, the film explores the effect of Public School life in the 1930's on Guy Bennett as his homosexuality and unwillingness to "play the game" turns him eastwards towards communist Russia.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | student | school | homosexuality | 1930s | 

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Taglines:

He outraged his friends . . . He rebelled against his family . . . And finally he betrayed his country [Australia theatrical]

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1984 (UK)

Also Known As:

Druga zemlja

Filming Locations:

St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goldcrest Films International,National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Nicholas Rowe.

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Goofs

[All goofs for this title are spoilers.]

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Quotes

Guy Bennett: In your heart of hearts, like Barclay and Delahay and Fowler and me, you still believe, inspite of your talk of equality and fraternity, you still believe that some people are better than others because of the way they make love.

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Connections

Featured in A Bit of Scarlet (1997)

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Soundtracks

Prelude in D flat major 'Raindrop' Opus 28 no. 15
(uncredited)
Written by Frédéric Chopin

User Reviews

An overlooked important movie.

Forget the prologue which preludes the long flashback which is the core of the movie.First scene:in a room,two boys make love while,in the main courtyard of the posh school (Eton?),a ceremony commemorates the dead soldier of WW1,with pump and circumstance:the two bedrocks of the family, Army and Religion taking in hand the third one:School.Behind these walls,inside these venerable buildings,mortal hatred ,intolerance and repression are looming.Outside,the splendid landscapes are unchanging,particularly this quiet river which comes back as a leitmotiv.And most of the students wants to keep the world as it is,because they know they are part of the privileged few.Their studies are a mere rehearsal of their life-to-be. Becoming a prefect,what a feat! Being called "god" what a honor! Being able to push the others out of your way,that makes you a man!

Two young men refuse the rules of the game:the first one ,Tommy (a good Colin Firth),the most loyal character of a rather obnoxious. gathering.He sticks to his ideals,and he will die for them.He believes in Marx and in Stalin(we're in the thirties ) ;he would never betray anybody,and the audience sides with him most of the time. The second one ,Guy,(Rupert Everett at his best)is a gay,in love with a younger pal.He,too,rebels against this rigid institutions,but he's more complex:actually he tries to become a prefect and then a god,because he has kept his ambitions and he would easily opt for a compromise solution.He could but he will not..Homosexuality,when it's secret is no problem for the bourgeois society.Guy's character will mute and finally he realizes that he cannot live in the shadow.That's his downfall.

No commies,no gays can be part of the crème de la crème.The posh school reputation,once the non-straight ones(in the general sense of the word)are eradicated,can sleep the sleep of the just.

Sometimes compared with Lindsay Anderson's "If"(1970),its atmosphere is drastically different though :there's no dreamlike sequences here,no madness.It rather recalls "der junge Torless" (Schloendorff,1966)and it might have influenced James Ivory's "Maurice" (1986). An overlooked important movie.