Customer Reviews

Coming Out

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

COMING OUT

(E.Germany - 1989)

Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Theatrical soundtrack: Mono

Demonstrating that love can blossom unexpectedly even under the most adverse social conditions, the late Heiner Carow's award-winning and hugely impressive COMING OUT was filmed in communist East Berlin whilst homosexuality was still a criminal offence on that side of the Wall. Matthias Freihof plays a bright, attractive schoolteacher whose affair with a female colleague (Dagmar Manzel) is interrupted when Freihof falls in love with a beautiful young man (Dirk Kummer) whom he meets after stumbling into an illicit gay bar. Given that most gay teachers aren't exactly welcomed in even the most 'open' societies, it's inevitable that the enforced suppression of Freihof's true nature should result in the cruel deceit which he practices on the two people he loves most, with equally inevitable consequences if the truth should ever come out. In the end, it's left to an elderly patron of the gay bar (Werner Dissell) to put Freihof's problems into perspective by reminding him of a time in Germany fifty years earlier when things were much, MUCH worse for gay people...

Carow was a veteran writer-director whose career stretched back to the 1950s, but this was his first attempt to tackle the problems faced by gay people under his homeland's oppressive regime. Forsaking shrill melodrama for coolly understated realism, he simply points the camera at a superb cast of talented actors and allows them to develop their characters on the foundations of Wolfram Witt's excellent script: Freihof carries the picture as an essentially decent man whose fears of legal redress provides the linchpin of the entire narrative; Kummer is the romantic teenager whose tragic past sends him in search of true love (watch him carefully in the scene directly after his lovemaking with Freihof, when he asks if they will meet again - there is such hope and longing in his beautiful face); and Manzel is dignified in the thankless role of Freihof's uncomprehending girlfriend, the one with most to lose as a result of her lover's deceit.

Filmed in and around some of the illegal gay bars which proliferated in East Berlin at the time, Carow charts the burgeoning romance between Freihof and Kummer with a tenderness that almost completely eludes the 'pretend' relationship with Manzel. But while the film is defiantly romantic at heart, it's also unflinchingly honest in its depiction of political repression at even the most basic level (in class, Freihof teaches individualism and freedom of thought, whilst concealing his sexual identity for fear of reprisals). As such, the film's conclusion may seem a little abrupt, even arbitrary, to some viewers, but it actually represents the true dawning of a whole new chapter for the central characters. In fact, Freihof's closing declaration - a single word, with countless implications - must have seemed especially liberating to those who caught the film's theatrical premiere in Germany on the same day the Berlin Wall came down, ending years of repression at a stroke. Long after the political tyrants of our world are gone, movies like this one will stand like stone, bearing witness to unkind history. A must-see.

NB. Some interesting trivia: Firstly, though often cited as the first and only gay film from communist East Germany, COMING OUT was actually preceded by Wieland Speck's WESTLER (1985), a desperately awkward West German drama concerning a love affair between two young men living on opposite sides of the Wall, which utilized clandestine footage secretly recorded in East Berlin. And secondly, the medical staff in the opening sequence of COMING OUT are genuine, and poor Dirk Kummer appears to be having his stomach pumped FOR REAL! Talk about dedication to your craft...!!

Advertised as the first significant gay drama to come out of Berlin, the film premiered to wide acclaim on the same night of the falling of the Berlin Wall. It is a surprisingly well done story of a closeted school teacher who becomes romantically involved with a female co-worker but then suppressed desires from his past begin to resurface when he meets a young man (Matthias) in a concert ticket line. He visits an underground gay bar and eventually becomes involved with Matthias but is torn by his true feelings and how his society will view him.

The film has a haunting quality yet remains starkly realistic (the opening scene which depicts Matthias having his stomach pumped after a suicide attempt is quite graphic and disturbing). Most of the scenes are filmed on location in Berlin's gay bars, subways, streets, classrooms and houses. The sex scenes are not explicit yet very erotic and very well done. Overall, the film boasts excellent production values and performances and the dvd picture is sharp and colors are good. The scenes in Berlin's gay bars are particularly fascinating (apparently drag queens are really popular there.)

Wow - who knew East Germany made such good movies? "Coming Out" is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. It's a bit slow at first, but you will totally be enthralled by the complex character development and awed by the very sexy actors. (Matthias Freihof is such a cutie - you gay boys are lucky he's on your team!) Sure you've seen other coming out movies, but this one is really remarkable because it's so unique - in 1989 Berlin - and the performances are excellent.

Also - the DVD is pretty cool because it has the "Best of Queer Berlin" - descriptions of places to check out if you get to go over there. Now I want to go to Berlin! But some parts are only PC-friendly, so I had to take it over to a friend's house because I couldn't see all the features on my Mac. But it's well worth it.

And one of the other reviewers said this film is a must see for all gay guys - I disagree. It's a must-see for EVERYONE. You don't have to be gay to recognize the genius in this film. You just have to be human.

Maybe it's the fact that it's an "indie" film and it's supposed to be "trendy." Or maybe it's that it's foreign. But what's with films that just *end* before you get anywhere?

Set in East Berlin before the fall of the Wall, the movie starts off with Mathias getting his stomach pumped, and we eventually learn that he's attempted suicide because he's gay. That's the last we see of Mathias for a bit, and instead we start focusing on Philipp, a high school teacher.

Philipp, however, clearly has issues with his sexuality. He gets himself a girlfriend to present to the world his heterosexuality, but, having been led into an underground gay bar, his latent tendencies erupt and become irrepressible. He eventually meets Mathias, who quickly becomes the object not just of his lust, but his genuine affection as well.

The story is a compelling one, and not just because it takes place in East Berlin - I know plenty of people here in the States who have problems with their own homosexuality and end up doing what Philipp does. The characters transcend national borders. They're people.

The acting is impressive. Philipp clearly is tormented, and the viewer can feel the pull and pressures of his life grating on him. Repression is a terrible thing.

Where the movie loses it for me is its substantial lack of focus and drive. So many loose ends that aren't adequately explained. Words to ponder after the movie has run its course: What happens to: Marriage? Baby? Job? Mother? Mathias? Philipp? With no apparent answer to any of these apparent questions, I was left a little empty. Show me an ending! Any ending!

Moreover, the philosophizing becomes a bit much. Between a former -- trick? boyfriend? -- and the old man at the bar, the message came across a bit too heavy-handed. Perhaps it's because, in the States now, we're more steeped in the rhetoric and (in some places) can be contentedly and confidently "out." It was relevant back then, I'm sure, but now, it got a bit tiring.

All in all, this movie was a decent effort, and entertaining for what it's worth. I just really wish they would have inserted a more definitive ending.

I first saw this film back in 1989, and fell in love with it.

A sensitive, moving and ultimately tragic story, this is the first and only feature film about gay life ever produced in communist East Germany. Ironically, I find it more open, real and honest than most Western films on the topic.

Also ironic - and symbolic - is the fact that it premiered on the very night the Berlin Wall came down. It is the story of Philipp (Matthias Freihol), a schoolteacher who has repressed his homosexuality in order to fit into the norm. Philipp meets a shy girl who falls for him, yet he cannot deny his burning desire for the sweet Matthias (Dirk Kummer).

It's a moving and passionate story, honestly told - without the shmultz so common in Western movies of the same genre. And Dirk Kummer is a beautiful man who gives a sensitive performance.

I recommend it very highly.

This story takes place behind the Berlin Wall, but it really could be taking place in any city. There's nothing that screams COMMUNIST at you. The lead character is a young, good-looking, and well-built young man who is a school teacher. His students are easily in thrall to him, and you don't blame them. He seems passionate about his subject. It is interesting as what plays out in real life for him - his being torn between his girlfriend and a young man he is instantly attracted to - is played out in his classroom, as both a young woman and a young man are both obviously devoted to him. His interest in them is strictly professional, however, and despite his confusion of a heterosexual lifestyle or a homosexual one - and he believes he must choose, he cannot have it both ways. This in spite of his sexually functioning with both sexes. The mid-section of the film is about his being faced with this conundrum and the final part is about his decision and its consequences. A very good lead actor and actress, and though the sexual nature of this young man is the pivotable point of the story, I wished for more interraction between him and his students, as he seemed the type of teacher we all fantasize we wish we had when we were in school. There are many scenes of rear nudity as the young teacher is casual of dress at home, and especially with his adoring girlfriend who obviously thinks of her handsome lover as a trophy she can't believe she's won.

This is a wonderfull movie. The action is in Berlin in 1989, just before the wall fall. The plot is a love story between Mathias ( a 19 year old who has attempt suicide in the begining of the film), and Philipp, a young school teacher who is in denial of his gayness.

It is very interesting to see the gay lifestyle (and lifestyle in general) of East Berlin in 1989. The country is still a communist state at that time. There are profunds dialogs.

I really enjoyed this movie and I believe that it is one of the best gay movie ever made.

An absolute must seeing for all gay men!

One of the most facinating aspects of this movie is that is was filmed in East Germany before the fall of communism yet is more frank about the gay aspect than many gay films made in the west today. though interesting, the location of the movie took a backseat to the storyling.
the main character is a handsome teacher working in a highschool in East Berlin, he becomes reaquainted with a woman he knew in college and starts to date her. Later in the movie, he has a shock when one of her friends turns out to be a childhood pal of his, and somebody that he used to have strong feelings for. this encounter reawakens these feelings as well as his nervousness about them. he takes the step of going to a gay bar. this seems to be the end of it until later in the city he bumps into a young man who recognized him from the bar, there is a chemestry between them which them becomes complicated because of his relationship with his girlfriend. the striking thing about the movie is that it didn't dwell overly much on the tragic aspects although it pointed out the wrongheadedness of not being honest with the people in your life. In the end it gave you the feeling that the man was going to land on his feet and is a film I would recomend. Again the side-plot of the everyday aspects of life in East germany before the fall of communism was a facinating addition to this very good film.

This has got to be the best gay film I've ever seen. I was completely thrown off by the acting these actors gave out. These guys give out academy award winning performances. In one scene where a guy tells another guy he is married you can see a single tear instantly fall from his eye. These people can cry like you wouldn't believe. And the best performance in the movie is from an old guy in a bar who talks about how he was thrown in a concentration camp for being gay. This film is absolutely brilliant and should be seen by everyone.

This movie is a bit "out there" with scenes that feel unrealistic or overdone. The whole nature of the movie is dark as others have menioned but the point of the movie is still relevant and important...at least in some parts of the world.

Bit of a spoiler to follow....

There is no real mystery to this film. Boy, who has met and married girl, meets boy and falls in love but stays with girl until the secret is revealed. Then boy loses everything in a dramatic and crushing way. In 1989 East Berlin, I would guess that this is how gay men were treated. Only guessing though. I think it is how they are still treated in many parts of the world.

The best part was the story that the old man in the bar tells toward the end of the movie. That kind of sums it all up.

Overall: recommended. But don't be surprised if you don't feel much like laughing when it is all over. Will make you think, though....