2021 ‘Große Freiheit’ Directed by Sebastian Meise
In post-war Germany, liberation by the Allies does not mean freedom for everyone. Hans Hoffmann is repeatedly imprisoned under Paragraph 175, which criminalizes homosexuality. Nevertheless, over the decades, he continues his quest for freedom and love, even if he finds it in the most unusual places.
Lielā brīvība, Великата свобода, Grosse Freiheit, Konačna sloboda, Suur vabadus, Μεγάλη Απόδραση, Frelsið mikla, La gran libertad, Wielka wolność, Великая свобода, Velika svoboda, Gran libertad, Den stora friheten
franz rogowski is one of the best doing it. whole movie is pretty great but there's no way it could have achieved what it did without him. love how much attention there is to light in this, looks phenomenal. loved this
The last of the Nazi concentration camps were liberated in 1945, but not all of their survivors were freed. For many gay men born during the Weimar Republic — who had been disqualified from Hitler’s master race no matter their religion — the end of the Holocaust marked the beginning of another, longer sentence, as both sides of post-war Germany continued to enforce the criminalization of homosexuality under Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code (with West Germany adopting the Nazis’ aggressive revisions to the 1871 law). Already hollowed and dehumanized by their suffering in the Shoah, these men were shuttled directly from Auschwitz or Dachau to prisons in Munich or Berlin without so much as a sniff of the…
CIFF 2021: film #3 (57th chicago international film festival)
“i’ve been on the run all my life”
poignant in a way that never feels forced or false, and just vulnerable enough to let tenderness creep its way in. franz rogowski is mesmerizing as a man stuck in time, solidifying him as one of my favorite working actors. i can’t remember the last time i saw such a good ending
Cannes day 2: Forgot to wear underwear so decided not to drink water BUT THEN watched Franz Rogowski naked on screen while Franz Rogoswki in a white suit sat 15ft away from me.
I thought this was so beautiful. So touching. Artfully put together. Franz Rogowski was amazing. Great performances by all. I kinda loved how it took its own pace to tell the story. It did feel a bit long because of that though.
Great Freedom is a decent gay prison drama that's hard-hitting with its theme and story, yet rather stingy with its emotional outlets. It's not one of my favorite queer movies of recent years, but seeing Franz Rogowski offering a bold, layered performance, which may or may not involve spreading his cheeks for the world to see, is enough reason to check this out.
Chronicling a German concentration camp survivor's decades of dehumanized experiences in jail simply because of his sexuality, Great Freedom is a self-critical, somber look back into a dark period of German history where gay citizens were ruthlessly punished for being themselves. Franz Rogowski is the perfect candidate to pull off the tall order of a loner longing…
Creating your own version of freedom when the systems in place deny you it; triumphant love in place of defeated submission. An insane balancing act executed to perfection
Great Freedom is a sad yet compelling drama about the imprisonment and persecution of homosexuals in West Germany from the 1940s - 1960s. It follows a man imprisoned, moved from a Nazi concentration camp to a prison. The timeline is not presented in order, as the film covers three separate prison sentences across three decades. The technique works well, allowing the film to move between moments while never losing consistency as it always remains trapped with the prisoners. The film only leaves prison at the very end, though by then our lead has become accustomed to it and cannot live in a free world. Various gay characters are shown in Great Freedom, from the repressed to the shy to those in denial. These people feel real and are representative of so many. Great Freedom is a harsh and powerful drama, yet very effective in highlighting wrongs that are often forgotten about. It is strong stuff and well told.
Great expectations often wound. Sometimes they kill. So to enter into a film with little to no expectations is a gift. It is rare in the internet age for an avid cinephile to see a film which they no nothing of. Yet there I was, in the company of a friend who chose the film on a miscalculation, and together we became enraptured by the virtue of surprise.
Many a lighthearted review drifted through my mind. This queer German prison drama left so many avenues leading to easy humour or mild off-handed praise. Yet it truly deserves more: it warrants respect. This film goes places most do not dare to go, and won my heart with such a crucial yet…
The sensational Frank Rowgwski plays Hans, a German man who has been beaten down and imprisoned for loving and having sex with men. The physicality of his performance and what he says with his eyes say so much. We follow his journey from just after World War II up until 1969, when Paragraph 175 (the law against homosexuality) was abolished. It’s a harrowing journey and of course heartbreaking. Though unlike many films set in prison there’s a surprising tenderness that’s palpable. You can feel the love when the men embrace. One striking moment occurs when Hans long-time friend is sick from coming off heroin. When the friend tried to use again, Hans hugs him tight calming him down. These moments…
“Why do you always act up, Hans?”
Sure, I could have bought a ticket for The Batman this weekend, but when presented with the opportunity to see the new Austrian feature Great Freedom (recently shortlisted for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominations) at Film Forum, sitting mere feet away from star Franz Rogowski and director Sebastian Meise, how could I resist?
(Even better, this was literally the first time in my whole life that I have ever gone to a nearly-sold out screening there with nobody sitting directly in front of me, which is a pretty big deal in a theater as totally flat as FF. As a short person who wouldn’t be able to read subtitles with anyone even…
