Coming Out (1989)

A young teacher in East Berlin struggles with accepting his homosexuality.

Director:

Heiner Carow

Writers:

Erika Richter (dramatisation), Wolfram Witt (scenario)

Stars:

Matthias Freihof, Dagmar Manzel, Dirk Kummer

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthias Freihof	...	Philipp Klarmann
Dagmar Manzel	...	Tanja
Dirk Kummer	...	Matthias
Michael Gwisdek	...	Achim
Werner Dissel	...	Älterer Homosexueller
Gudrun Ritter	...	Frau Moellemann, Serviererin
Walfriede Schmitt	...	Philipp's mother
Axel Wandtke	...	Jakob
Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss	...	Araber (as Pierre Bliss)
René Schmidt	...	Junger Mann im Park
Thomas Gumpert	...	Larry
Ursula Staack	...	Üppige
Robert Hummel	...	Lutz
Horst Ziethen	...	Schmächtiger
Gertraud Kreissig	...	Schul-Direktorin

Storyline

Reportedly the first film to come out of East Germany to deal openly with gay issues. Philipp, a closeted teacher is dating a female collegue to keep up appearances. One night, by 'accident' he stumbles into a gay bar, meets and promptly falls in love with a young man. Transformed by this love he is no longer afraid to face up to who he is.report

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Plot Keywords:

male full frontal nudity | male pubic hair | gay | gay bar | male rear nudity | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

East Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

10 November 1989 (East Germany)

Also Known As:

Saindo

Filming Locations:

Bebelplatz, Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Deutsche Film (DEFA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Premiered in East-Berlin on 9 November 1989. When the news broke that the border between East and West had been opened, the film was stopped and the audience was informed about the event taking place outside the cinema. The vast majority of the audience demanded to see the rest of the film before joining the masses outside.

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Connections

Featured in Schau mir in die Augen, Kleiner (2007)

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Soundtracks

Unter der Haut
Performed by City

User Reviews

East German Angst

This is a very interesting and stylish movie, unlike any other gay themed movie I know. It's East German, made just before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The paranoia, seriousness and drabness of East Berlin is a palpable atmosphere, and the illicit illegality of homosexuality there at the time. There are echoes of an expressionistic Berlin cabaret tradition: the exaggeration in the dance club scenes, and the song in the experimental theater/concert scene. The angst rings true. The atonality of some of the music in the soundtrack adds to the angst. The director obviously sees something "atonal" about these young men in love, but maybe it reflects the cultural context rather than disapproval? The quiet conversation scenes without scoring seem a little like Bergman in style.

I think it would be a mistake to view the self-loathing of the gay men in this movie, or the main character's mother's sad disappointment over her son's sexuality, with American eyes of the 21st Century, or those of the much freer Europe of current times. And even today there are still plenty of paranoid, secretive young gay men around, even in progressive countries.