Martin, an actor by profession, is in prison for having sex with a 15 year old boy. Martin agrees to stage a fellow prisoner's play and it is here that he meets Thomas, the warden's teen-aged son. Before you know, Thomas is completely smitten by Martin and they sneak here and there to spend time together, but the warden gets wind of it, so they wait for the time till Martin is released. Once released, the duo meet and start living together and Thomas comes out gay to his family also. But the warden will have none of it. His father gets his own son arrested and condemned to a brutal reformatory. Martin obtains fake passport, poses as psychology doctoral candidate and helps Thomas escape with him to Germany. Here they are betrayed by a German homosexual friend of Martin whop forces himself on Thomas and is then kicked out of home and forced to prostate himself. Broken by these experiences, he voluntarily returns to the reformatory. When he reaches 21 and is released, he is so psychologically damaged that, despite reunion with Martin, he attempts suicide and is committed to a psychiatric hospital.
The film is apparently based on a book which is based on the author's personal experiences. The novel and film had a pivotal role in West Germany in starting a dialogue on the topic of homosexuality. Shot in black and white, I feel that this tragic love story is as relevant and as important today as it would hav been 45 years ago. The cinematography is beautiful and somehow feels fresh and new. The passion and the intimacy expressed by the two actors for each other was so real that you can feel how deeply and painfully they are in love with each other. And your heart breaks that the society would do anything possible to keep the lovers apart. Both actors are great and I can't imagine who they would hav been convinced to be ok with such intimate scenes with one another in those days. The biggest strength, however, apart from the acting is that this film uses homosexuality just as a framework and managed to construct an intriguing story inside that framework. It is very easy to feel for the couple and hope they will find a way to manage their struggles and overcome these obstacles that these dark times back them posed for homosexual couples. I can't imagine why this film is not known more in gay film circles and talked about, It is for sure an important piece if cinema is gay art circle and definitely deserves to be seen and appreciated. An important perspective of gays were treated and considered of back in 70s in Europe. (7/10)
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