Coming Out

Ultimately this is a difficult movie to judge in relation to content, because it is the only movie from East Germany (and perhaps central Europe) dealing with coming out and homosexuality in a somewhat objective manner. East Germany was, for a communist country, rather liberal (homosexuality wasn't illegal, just ignored; women were an integral part of the work force and society...), yet still communist. I am a bit confused by one writer's comment regarding Bush's oppressive America...I think it rather resembles this movie. But I digress...

Overall, the movie is a success given its origin. No tragedies, but rather a man who struggles with his identity and ultimately accepts himself emotionally as a gay man. I guess it is a period piece as much as 'In and Out' may be considered a period piece. Maybe historical representation would be a better term, in particular with this movie, given the timing of its release. The ending is left rather open, leaving the viewer wondering where Philipp might next end up. Maybe there was supposed to be a sequel? We'll never know, I guess.

And yes, he does look good in a pair of jeans.

I saw the 1989 West Geman feature "Coming Out" yesterday at the Brisbane Queer Film Festival (2nd June 2007) and I loved it.

It tells a realistic story of an incredibly handsome young high school teacher who is coming to grips with his homosexual tendencies. Philipp is a pleasant and sociable chap - and finds it easy to fall in love with a woman who has held a torch for him since their high school days. However when her best male friend turns out to be his own teenage lover (with a lot of emotional baggage attached), Philipp realises that his passion for men hasn't wained.

The soundtrack music is excellent - and it's refreshing to see a film which doesn't pander to the viewer - you have to pay attention and infer some of the plot, but it all makes perfect sense.

Coming Out is an empowering film - made and set at a time when all sex between men was equally illegal in my home state of Queensland as it was in East Germany. The opening night for "Coming Out" in Berlin was the same night that the Wall came down - that would have been one memorable night for all involved.

I was impressed enough to immediately order the DVD from the USA - it's a great film to share.

A few young people in the audience thought that "Coming Out" was a comedy (which is weird considering the opening detailed scene of a seriously ill young man in hospital having the contents of his stomach pumped). They guffawed at the fashions, the disco music and the dancing - but thankfully they shut up soon enough.

I thought the ending was particularly poignant - especially considering the film's title.

I also enjoyed seeing Charlotte Von Mahlsdorf as the barmaid in the gay club. She was perfect for that part - and it is a fitting tribute to her.

COMING OUT is a seventeen-year-old movie, created in East Germany while under Communist rule, about the dangerous milieu in which gay men closeted their identity. It is a stunning achievement in that it presents the agony of coming to grips with sexual identity in a suppressive atmosphere, opening to public viewing the night the Berlin Wall tumbled. With this knowledge the story of these people is all the more heartbreaking with the chance that life for each character would have been different if told a few months later! The real tragedy is that the story is timeless and universal: the trauma of young people coming out is still potentially as wracked with anguish as the trauma of this film.

Philipp (handsome young Matthias Freihof) is a popular high school teacher, tightly in the closet, who happens to bump into (literally) an open and needy pretty girl Tanya (Dagmar Manzel) who immediately invites him to her apartment and introduces him to her bed. They form a comfortable bond, Philipp thinking his sexual identity problem is solved. Then Tanya brings home an old friend, Redford, who Philipp instantly recognizes as a boy with whom he has had hidden sex in the past. Old feelings are aroused and Philipp runs into the night only to end up in a secretive gay bar where he meets Matthias (handsome young Dirk Kummer) invites him home, and in a beautifully captured moment has a wholly satisfying physical encounter. Both men are enraptured.

Philipp returns to Tanya who questions his evenings' whereabouts and Philipp manages to keep his secret: the relationship suffers. Philipp has meetings with his mother and during one of these meetings his mother tells him she is sure Tanya is pregnant: she has all the symptoms of morning sickness and 'a woman can tell'. Philipp, though mortified, declares he will remain with Tanya, and at a party when the couple encounters Matthias (Philipp and Matthias greet each other with passion), Philipp introduces Tanya as his wife. Matthias is shocked and hurt and flees, and outraged Tanya discards Philipp. Philipp roams the streets and parks looking for Matthias, realizing they can now be lovers, but doesn't find him. He instead encounters one of his high school students Lutz (Robert Hummel) and has a one-night stand. In a sleazy gay bar Philipp meets an old man (brilliant actor Werner Dissel) who relates how life as a gay man during Hitler's reign had resulted in incarceration in a concentration camp, that gay men will always be persecuted. Returning to his classroom Philipp is informed that he is under observation because of his sexual activity. Struck by silence, Philipp stands before his class, his future unknown.

This story by Wolfram Witt as directed by Heiner Carow is as fine as any relating the terrors of coming out. That it is performed by such a fine cast is even more impressive, and the real banner that flies over this film is that it doesn't attempt to provide answers or maudlin endings. It merely stops - leaving the futures of each of these well-drawn characters to the imagination of the audience. It is powerful, it is well made, it is worthy of continued appreciation as a brave little film from another period in time, a period that continues into the present in so many places. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

The film tries to kindle an understanding on valuing one's sexual orientation and identity. Many gay people experience critical times when they have to decide who to tell about their sexuality. In making this disclosure they are often fearful of negative reactions, rejection and causing upset and distress to the person they are telling. Sometimes a person may try 'coming out' to a supportive friend as a precursor to talking to parents or partner in order to rehearse their own part and to judge reactions. The film "Coming Out" serves as an eye-opener for those who are anxious and unsure of their own sexual identities. It has relevant issue that encourages me to recognize new perspectives based on realities in the society. It actually stimulates me to think critically. The story has a logical flow and has various twists. Although the story is not new for me (cause I've already read the same story from a book) the execution enables the film to stand out and appear to be revealing. I was not bored watching the whole film. I used to take a nap when I view DEFA films in my film class but I was surprised, this movie kept me awake.

As a youth Philipp had an unconsummated relationship with a schoolmate but panicked and ended it. He's now a teacher in a high school and starting a relationship with a woman named Tanja who teaches at the same school. When Tanja introduces him to a friend of hers who turns out to be Philipp's old schoolmate, Philipp's questions about his sexuality resurface. When Philipp begins to explore his feelings by checking out a local gay bar he meets Mathias, a charming young man who is equally smitten with him.

Philipp is attractive and has a puppy dog-like air of vulnerability, but while Philipp is starting to be more honest with himself about what he wants, he's not honest with those around him and in his confusion and panic ends up hurting all of those that try to love him. This makes for a sadder movie than other coming out stories such as Beautiful Thing or the older Making Love.

In summary this is an interesting but ultimately unfulfilling story look at one man's coming out. There are scenes that are over the top and others that I just plain don't understand but this may be a cultural thing. E.g. Several patrons leaving a gay bar have never met Philipp but come up to him as they pass him in the street, stroke his hair and point him inside. Also the bar has gay men in costumes that are wilder than anything I see in the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. Is it a special event or were gay bars in East Germany more festive than I'd heard?