Coming Out (1989/I)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Heiner Carow

Writer:

Wolfram Witt (writer)

Release Date:

10 November 1989 (East Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Reportedly the first film to come out of East Germany to deal openly with gay issues. Philipp, a closeted...

Plot Keywords:

Gay | Love | Teacher | Gay Bar | Friend

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Matthias Freihof	...	Philipp
Dagmar Manzel	...	Tanja
Dirk Kummer	...	Matthias
Michael Gwisdek	...	Achim
Werner Dissel	...	älterer Herr
Gudrun Ritter	...	Frau Moellemann
Walfriede Schmitt	...	Philipp's mother
Axel Wandtke	...	Jakob
Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss	...	Araber (as Pierre Bliss)
René Schmidt
Thomas Gumpert
Ursula Staack
Robert Hummel	...	Lutz
Horst Ziethen
Gertraud Kreissig
Gudrun Okras
Dieter Okras
Joachim Pape
Cornelia Schirmer
Maria Planitzer	...	Oberärztin (as Dr. Maria Planitzer)
Charlotte von Mahlsdorf		(as Charlotte [Lothar Berfelde])
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Evelyn Opoczynski	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Heiner Carow

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Wolfram Witt		writer

Original Music by
Stefan Carow

Cinematography by
Martin Schlesinger

Film Editing by
Evelyn Carow

Production Design by
Regina Fritzsche
Georg Wratsch

Costume Design by
Regina Viertel

Makeup Department
Heide Haß	....	assistant makeup artist
Hannelore Petzold	....	makeup artist
Karin Wacker	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Ralph Brosche	....	assistant unit manager
Wolfgang Hammer	....	unit manager
Horst Hartwig	....	production manager
Wolfgang Lange	....	unit manager
Rosalinde Schwarzer	....	unit manager
Dietmar Steinkühler	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dirk Kummer	....	assistant director
Hanna Seydel	....	assistant director

Art Department
Marcus Berndt	....	props
Frank Cochlovius	....	props
Peter Glaser	....	props
Sven Hausmann	....	props
Klaus Schackner	....	set builder

Sound Department
Hans-Joachim Kreinbrink	....	sound
Horst Mathuschek	....	sound
Konrad Walle	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Wolfgang Fritsche	....	still photographer
Dieter Lück	....	assistant camera
Winfried Tafel	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Evi Behnke	....	wardrobe
Susanne Carow	....	wardrobe
Brigitte Mierke	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Heike Bauer	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Erika Richter	....	script editor

Production Companies

• Deutsche Film (DEFA) (Gruppe "Babelsberg")

Distributors

• Progress Film-Verleih (1989) (East Germany) (theatrical)
• Homescreen (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Icestorm Entertainment (199?) (Germany) (VHS)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

East Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bebelplatz, Staatsoper, Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Film (DEFA)

Trivia:

The first East German film on homosexuality, it was shot on location in several gay bars and cruising areas in East Berlin.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Schau mir in die Augen, Kleiner (2007)

East German Angst

This is a very interesting and stylish movie, unlike any other gay themed movie I know. It's East German, made just before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The paranoia, seriousness and drabness of East Berlin is a palpable atmosphere, and the illicit illegality of homosexuality there at the time. There are echoes of an expressionistic Berlin cabaret tradition: the exaggeration in the dance club scenes, and the song in the experimental theater/concert scene. The angst rings true. The atonality of some of the music in the soundtrack adds to the angst. The director obviously sees something "atonal" about these young men in love, but maybe it reflects the cultural context rather than disapproval? The quiet conversation scenes without scoring seem a little like Bergman in style.

I think it would be a mistake to view the self-loathing of the gay men in this movie, or the main character's mother's sad disappointment over her son's sexuality, with American eyes of the 21st Century, or those of the much freer Europe of current times. And even today there are still plenty of paranoid, secretive young gay men around, even in progressive countries.