Anders als die Andern

Conrad Veidt plays a famous musician who is blackmailed for being gay. Eventually he stands trial and is convicted. At the end the Film pleads for the abolition of § 175(The Paragraph which punishes homosexuality).

The making of such a film was only possible because after WWI there were no Censorship laws in Germany. After a wave of sexually explicit films they were reinstalled and 'Anders als die andern' was banned for the public in Aug.1920. Not until 1957 would homosexuality be a main topic in a film again (Anders als Du und Ich).

Sadly this historic film is lost. But Portions of it were incorporated into another film (Gesetze der Liebe/Laws of Love,1927) and survived. These have been restored to a length of 41 min..

This film deals with a prosperous man who encounters a sleazy blackmailer who discovers that he is gay. (This silent rarity is a good reason for film preservation!)

A much later film "Victim", deals with a similar subject.

Interesting early film dealing with homosexuality and the laws in Germany at the time making it a crime punishable by a prison sentence. About a famous violin virtuoso, Paul (played by Conrad Veidt), who after a concert one evening is approached by a handsome young man named Kurt who idolizes and has a youthful crush on the older man. Kurt dreams of taking lessons from his idol, so visits the kimono-dressed man in his apartments where he is soon being given private violin lessons. The two men quickly become closer and closer, playing duets together on violin and piano, and taking strolls in the park arm and arm, but unfortunately a blackmailer sees them in the park - and seizes upon an opportunity to make himself some quick "hush money". Interestingly, the blackmailer himself hangs out in a nightclub full of women dressed as men, and pairs of men dancing together, which made me wonder - is he out to find himself another victim for blackmail here or is he himself?

This film is a reconstruction containing fragments, strung together in a well-done manner with intertitles and still photos describing and portraying the missing scenes. The print for the scenes that are intact look quite nice here, the music is appropriate and pleasing. Parts of the film almost come across as instructional, including a lecture given by a sexologist featuring a slide show of males and females mostly in various states of cross-dress. Conrad Veidt gives a very well-done, touching performance here, really giving off a keen sense of the strong relationship and love felt between Paul and Kurt. Well worth seeing.

It's a wonder any of this film exists; if not for the wear of age (it's said that most films of this era are lost), one would think censorship and the Nazis would have annihilated it. Yet, much of the footage remains. The Kino release of the reconstruction fills in the rest of the story with explanatory intertitles and still photographs, nearing the film's original runtime. That's the first wonder.

The second is its message of tolerance and understanding of homosexuals. Message films, social realist films, or "enlightenment films" were not too common in the silent era, probably because the lack of sound takes away from the capacity to lecture. Lois Weber is an exception that I'm familiar with; she made a career out of selling morals to audiences. "Different from the Others" includes the tact of a self-referential scene, which Weber broadened to more interesting depths in her best work. This is a film pleading for the equality of homosexuals, and it features a lecture within the lecture doing the same: the "sexoligist" Magnus Hirschfeld giving a slideshow presentation, which is attended by Else. I think it makes the film more honest, and, at the same time, it's a way for the filmmakers to be as blunt as possible.

It's difficult to appreciate the film aesthetically, anymore. The gay nightclub scenes are frank, but the film seems to shy away from too much intimacy between homosexuals. "Philadelphia" (1993) has been criticized for it's lack of a kiss, too, so I suppose it's asking too much of a film from 1919. The camera-work appears rather static, as well. On the other hand, Conrad Veidt was an admirable man and quite an actor. This is as much bravery from a prominent actor as you'll ever see. And, he was outspoken against the Nazis, as opposed to Emil Jannings, probably the other major male star of German silent film. Although Veidt's performance is much in the style of the time, he shows the right balance of effeminacy without being stereotypical.

Other than Veidt, the film isn't of much entertainment or artistic value. The film's message, however, is very important, even today; as the reconstruction introduction says, Germany, while a generally liberal government and populace today, Paragraph 175 wasn't repealed until 1994. And, there's the marriage debate in the US and elsewhere. "Different from the Others" is powerful in that way.

A frank story of homosexual love and tragedy made 85 years ago, featuring such amazing things as a same-sex dance hall and a drag ball as background to dramatic scenes. It still packs a wallop, thanks to its purpose as an impassioned plea for justice and a wonderful central performance by the Conrad Veidt. Kino has just released this reconstructed version of about 50 minutes, based in large part on a print discovered in Moscow, with intertitles and a few stills telling the rest. It's a an effective drama and a fascinating history lesson. A good bit is still missing, but the most amazing things turn up, so maybe more of Anders als die Andern will as well. To have this much is wonderful.