La conséquence

The funny thing about "Die Konsequenz" is that it was very controversial at the time of release and it would be also very controversial if released today, but for different reasons.

At the time of release it was controversial because it openly portrayed an homosexual love affair.

Now it would be controlversial for two reasons. In the first place because we are forgotten that only 45 years ago it was widely believed that homosexuality was "curable" ("make a real man out of you"). In the second place because the film takes very lightly the fact that an adult has a sexual relation with a minor. A fact that is seen as much more problematic today.

After his German breakthrough "Das Boot" (1981) and his Hollywood breakthrough "The neverending story" (1984) director Wolfgang Petersen made mainly action oriented films like "In the line of fire" (1993), "Outbreak" (1995) and "The perfect storm" (2000). Watching "Die Konsequenz" nuances this action oriented view of his oeuvre a little bit.

Last but not least I would like to mention the beautiful black and white photography of Jorg Michael Baldenius.

An unusual work in Wolfgang Petersen's filmography, "Die Konsequenz" ("The Consequence") is a heartbreaking and unconventional love story, a movie that makes us look at Petersen in a different way, far from the optic we used to know from the director of blockbusters such as "Air Force One" and "In the Line of Fire". Without the speed and the colors of his notorious films, he has plenty of time to develop his story and create a brilliant piece that echoes life, giving his most natural and realistic work along with "Das Boot". His posterior enterprises might have stronger energies, action and bigger castings but doesn't have the patience and beautiful elements this has.

A saddening tale on the recklessness of youth in its pursuit for love, "The Consequence" deals on the obstacles two lovers have to face while trying to be together. Not the ordinary love story, quite the opposite. This one involves Martin (Jürgen Prochnow, in his best performance) an actor imprisoned for seducing a minor, and the young Thomas Manzoni (Ernst Hannawald), son of the prison's warden. Both were approached due to a play performed in the jail - unimaginable setting for such encounter to happen but believable in certain contexts. They share some good moments, always in secrecy, but the challenge comes after Martin's release. They meet again, already sure that what they shared was love and they're ready to live with each other, but Thomas parents are against their relation and even more opponent to their son's homosexuality, and these new facts causes the role changes in the story: this time the younger one will be arrested - in a juvenile facility though, after some arrangements made by his father - while the other will try anything to be near his lover or to release him if possible.

Not the cup of tea of many viewers out there who can't handle sad stories but the moral and warnings we get from this tale are truly valuable, very honest to us. It's cruel but it has a point. More than just a love story, it's a painful piece on the consequences of immaturity, right in that drastic point between youth and adulthood, already showing that choices have ultimate and heavy consequences that'll affect everyone's lives in one way or another. Thomas apparent brave act of showing to his family that he loves Martin and he wants to live with him only proves to be disastrous to himself. Their union faces bumps after bumps, and a great part of those happen because of the younger guy, not smart or not experienced to know the ways of life. If only he kept this a secret, just run away with his partner, things would might turn out to be OK for him and Martin.

Enthusiastic admirers of great acting will be delighted with the magnificent performances of the main stars. Prochnow, usually best suited in villain roles, is amazing in this sort of heroic role, not a perfect guy but a committed, passionate and kind, completely caught off guard and head over heels for this boy and always making his best to help him, even when he realizes that it's no longer possible. He express plenty with just few words. Hannawald's angelical face little by little becoming the face of sadness and misery is certainly the most unforgettable in the movie along with some of his lines ("I think it's really rotten of them to lock you up like this for making love to a boy") innocently referring on Martin's condemnation. He gives the performance of a lifetime in here.

Times are different, there's more openness and acceptance when it comes to sexuality issues but things aren't so bright and positive, which makes this film even more relevant today than like it was in the 1970's. Desperately needs more audience. 10/10

This film certainly deserves to be better known. I think with gay cinema evaluations have to be made in the context of the era in which they were made. The simplicity, honesty, brutality, and directness of this story is exceptional for the time.

It's a slender story, familiar yet different. Familiar insofar as the difficulty of maintaining a same sex relationship, especially when there is a significant age difference. But different in that it deals with a harsh (and somewhat incomprehensible) penal system. Nevertheless, American gay men will be able to relate, and translating 1970s Switzerland/Germany to a similar present-day experience will not be difficult at all. Unfortunately for us, this is a story I'm sure is happening every day all around the world.

It's fascinating to see a younger Jurgen Prochnow. The other lead, the beautiful young man, was and is unknown to me, but his performance is exactly right. All the performances are spot on, in fact.

If there is an amateurish aspect to this film, it's the uneven (sometimes) grainy photography. Perhaps it was shot on 16mm and blown up. The subtitles (on the Netflix version I saw) are white, and impossible to read whenever they fall on a white background. That happens a lot, unfortunately. This is a movie that deserves better.

Definitely worth seeing.

No pun intended - sometimes you are way more free in a restraint environment than you are "outside". Our two main characters .. they meet each other ... they fall for each other. By the way, if you have issues with love between two men ... I reckon the movie is not for you. And I don't mean you being against it (that's of course the biggest no go for you), but even if you do not want to watch a movie about the struggles of homosexual individuals ... than this also is not for you.

I am not blaming, shaming or telling anyone off. No one forces you to watch this movie. But if you do, you will see a depiction of things that happen to people ... pressure wise ... what society does, what toxic masculinity does ... and so forth. Very well acted and a really good movie from Germany - drama that is. Tough to watch - I understand, but you can decide to opt out of it ... people in real life who live situations like this ... they can't ... keep that in mind and try to be respectful to others as much as possible. Because consequences will be dealt ... maybe not to you, but to others ... and why should we not want the best for others too?

I saw this film at the Gate Cinema near Bayswater, over twenty years ago. It was searingly good, in story content, composition and style. I was left feeling such a strong sense of anger at the way the two principal characters were hounded, anger at the bigotry and hypocrisy of those in authority, and desperately saddened by the outcome. This reflected my own feeling of dejection, rejection and utter desolation. From time to time over the past twenty or so years, I have thought of this film, especially the scene at a railway station where the two, almost against the odds, meet up and reaffirm their love for each other. It seems as if all will now be okay and that they might make away from their 'prison' but this moment of hope is destroyed so unexpectedly, and ruthlessly, that it would have been better if they had never met again. I hunted the film database to find this film, just so that I may at last tell someone else something about it, and to urge you to view it if you can get hold of a copy.