'Great Freedom' review: A gay man persever post-war Germany - Los Angel Tim

Contents:

• NEW WWI MOVIE TO FEATURE A GAY LOVE STORY
• WATCH: SOLDIERS FALL LOVE THE JUNGL OF VIETNAM THIS MOVG GAY WAR DRAMA
• THE GAYT MOVI THAT AREN’T ACTUALLY GAY, OM ‘BARBIE’ AND ‘BURLQUE’ TO ‘VENOM’ AND ‘ROAD HOE’
• FILM REVIEW; GAY WORLD WAR II: ABE BY THE MILARY
• INTERNATNAL GAY CEMA: 33 LGBTQ MOVI TO SEE OM AROUND THE WORLD
• REVIEW: A PERSECUTED GAY MAN FDS TE LIBERATN BETIFULLY BTERSWEET ‘GREAT FREEDOM’
• IN WWII, TWO GAY SOLDIERS’ FORBIDN ROMANCE LIV ON IN THEIR LOVE LETTERS
• ‘COULDN’T BELIEVE I WAS SEEG ’: HOME MOVI OFFER RARE GLIMPSE OF GAY LIFE ST. LOUIS 1945
• THIS GAY MARE VET JT MA A MOVIE BASED ON HIS LIFE THE CORPS DURG 'DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL'
• THAI BL/GAY - BL AND GAY DRAMAS AND MOVI OM THAILAND
• ‘ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE NAZIS’: THE FILM ABOUT GERMANY’S POSTWAR PERSECUTN OF GAY MEN
• "COMG OUT UNR FIRE": THE STORY OF GAY AND LBIAN SERVICEMEMBERS
• GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME
• I WAS TEAM DESANTIS BEFORE HIS DISGTG ANTI-GAY AD

NEW WWI MOVIE TO FEATURE A GAY LOVE STORY

Though safe for the moment thanks to Jean’s quick-thkg plan to pass her off as a Gallic employee of his fay’s lndry bs, Sara watch horror as her homosexual protector is forced to a Nazi labor mp as a tragic rult of a bad cisn ma by Jean’s troublome brother Jacqu (Nilas Gob). There are some great exampl of that terrifyg time, and even how they found the abily to enjoy themselv; the scene Groff’s is rather enjoyable – until the tth that homosexuals are now beg targeted sks .

WATCH: SOLDIERS FALL LOVE THE JUNGL OF VIETNAM THIS MOVG GAY WAR DRAMA

Well before “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, ” this was a world where servicemen uld be discharged simply for beg homosexual, but reports have shown that the Army was so short on personnel durg the Vietnam War that some gay men were admted to serve.

Gayton felt pelled to brg this story to life as a way to honor the queer people who have served the ary throughout history, many of whom ma the ultimate sacrifice for a untry that refed to let them live their liv openly. Culled om a longlist of hundreds, movi nsired for the list promently feature gay, lbian, trans, or queer characters; ncern self centrally wh LGBTQ+ them; prent s LGBTQ+ characters a fair and realistic light; and/or be seen as a touchpot the evolutn of queer cema.

THE GAYT MOVI THAT AREN’T ACTUALLY GAY, OM ‘BARBIE’ AND ‘BURLQUE’ TO ‘VENOM’ AND ‘ROAD HOE’

And we regnize that some of the films the list will re-igne healthy bat that have been fixtur of discsn around LGBTQ+ films — straight actors playg gay characters, cis actors playg trans characters, and the historil domance of whe male perspectiv.

FILM REVIEW; GAY WORLD WAR II: ABE BY THE MILARY

For our most recent update to the list, we’ve add mastream edi Fire Island and Bros, thriller Knock at the Cab (featurg two pairs of hbands whose vatn is terpted by the potential apolypse), Disney feature Strange World (wh the stud’s first openly gay lead character), Blue Jean (a Brish drama set durg the Thatcher premiership), the extremely well-reviewed Girl Picture), France’s magil realist The Five Devils, and Cann 2023 buts Monster and Strange Way of Life. Cast a few top-shelf gay ins there — your Bette Middlers, your Joan Crawfords, your Faye Dunaways playg Joan Crawford — and pecially have them reparteeg bchy l tearg each other to piec, and have an athetic that’s outre and unironilly mp, and you’ve got the wng-formula starter-pack for somethg licly fabulo and queer, even if not by tentnal sign. But settg a precent for movi now nonized by gay culture that don’t technilly have any (non-d, anyway) gay characters were some of Hollywood’s most all-time legendary actrs: Bette Davis “All About Eve” ma “’s gog to be a bumpy ri” an idmatic quip, while Elizabeth Taylor then ma Bette Davis’ “what a dump” even more inic aga the openg le of “Who’s Aaid of Virgia Woolf, ” livered while gnawg down on a chicken wg.

Ed Bianchi’s 1981 “The Fan, ” meanwhile, livered perhaps the greatt gift to gay film fans of a certa era stg Lren Ball as an agg actrs stgglg to hold onto her legacy while beg stalked by, what else but, a psychotic gay fan. There’s also, of urse, the trend many of the movi of men beg huiated and based — somethg the gay mal the dience love to partake — leavg our inic women wh all the chips the end and whom we n leave the theater rootg for.

Why ’s gay: Ameri’s arguably greatt director is normally regard as heteronormative (Wterns, war films, John Wayne, Amerin history), but his work is full of subtextual gay tert, rarely as much as here.

INTERNATNAL GAY CEMA: 33 LGBTQ MOVI TO SEE OM AROUND THE WORLD

Why ’s gay: Beyond s possible cln bee of the bare-chted Holn — a 1950s Hollywood beefke, seen here ep to his reer — what is notable is a possible alternative terpretatn of two female characters. From the tfight the powr room to the over-the-top dialogue to the jaw-droppg mil numbers and not one but two montag that serve as md-bogglg time psul of the ’60s, the film is so outrageo that spired generatns of gay viewers to scream, “Sparkle, Neely, sparkle!

Why ’s gay: A wacky sexploatn film wh high mp productn valu and a killer theme song, Barbarella mt fight the evil Durand Durand (om which inic New Wave band Duran Duran took s name), while scg a shirtls Aryan angel and outlastg an evil sex mache. What is: Although has been staged wh two men ( 2015 London), the straight uple’s suatn “Brief Enunter” — a drama of two married people (Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard) meetg by chance and their growg mutual affectn — works fe as a metaphor for barriers to gay romance. Why ’s gay: More than the one-act Noel Coward play (the gay wrer expand the screenplay), this ni the possibily of realistic nsummatn, elevat the tratn impossible love, and als wh the sts of turng hont people to liars.

Why ’s gay: Although “Mommie Deart” was negatively received at the time of s release, attracted a strong gay fanbase pretty much immediately, due to Dunaway’s performance, which was received by many as mp — most famoly, the inic “no wire hangers” scene. Why ’s gay: What’s gayer than a movie wh Lren Ball beg stalked by a closeted mil buff than also that same movie segueg to an out-of-nowhere stage mil medley a la “Sg’ the Ra’s” entr’acte, featurg Ball speak-sgg onstage while beg lifted and twirled around by a pack of male dancers? Why ’s gay: Those who had already read queer cu “Top Gun” three years earlier saw some the story of Dalton (Patrick Swayze, his first major film after “Dirty Dancg”), as a “oler” imported to a Missouri small-town bar om New York to impose orr.

REVIEW: A PERSECUTED GAY MAN FDS TE LIBERATN BETIFULLY BTERSWEET ‘GREAT FREEDOM’

But they’ll also see themselv the spectacular rilience of Cher’s imperfect Rachel Flax, whose volatile outbursts are as gay as her bt l (“Don’t do anythg I wouldn’t do — or do anythg I would! ” But what really ph to the gay film non is Ga Gershon’s hammy performance as bisexual star dancer Cristal, and the love/hate chemistry she builds wh Berkley, which arguably sgle-handly lifts the film om so bad ’s good to jt pla good.

IN WWII, TWO GAY SOLDIERS’ FORBIDN ROMANCE LIV ON IN THEIR LOVE LETTERS

And nothgThis film has volved a few topics that trigued me: borr illegal immigratn, stggle of 1st generatn immigrants (Greg & Marta), law enforcement racial profilg (Greg), gay g of age (David and Gee), adoptn fay (Gee), story had a terrific begng and background set up.

‘COULDN’T BELIEVE I WAS SEEG ’: HOME MOVI OFFER RARE GLIMPSE OF GAY LIFE ST. LOUIS 1945

Y, Tman Capote was gay, y he is portrayed as such, y shows his partner, BUT the primary foc of the film was Capote's alholism and his wrg of In Cold Blood (and that is FINE, aga, was an EXCELLENT film, jt not a LGBT film my opn). Terrific st wh excellent chemistry and some genuely funny moments, Fourth Man Out is a rehg gay edy that I thk many would enjoy (even the "manlit" men of this world), thanks to the rehg and likable performance of Evan Todd as the likable, awkward, r-mechanic Adam and his goofy well-meang straight "bros. A young man returns to his fay farm, after a long stay ex-gay nversn therapy, and is torn between the expectatns of his emotnally distant father, and the memori of a past, lovg relatnship he has tried to bury.

Not nearly as good or funny as Borat, but the film do a good job revealg the nonsense that is homophobia (Brüno viss a gay-to-straight nverter, a group of redneck hunters, and a martial arts expert who shows him how to "fend himself agast the gays").

It won an honorable mentn for Bt First film has also screened at Mosw Internatnal Film Ftival, Durban Internatnal Film Ftival, Outft Los Angel LGBTQ Film Ftival, and Hong Kong Lbian & Gay Film Ftival.

THIS GAY MARE VET JT MA A MOVIE BASED ON HIS LIFE THE CORPS DURG 'DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL'

Ocsnally the digizatn procs troduc transcriptn errors or other problems; we are ntug to work to improve the archived the re of "Comg Out Unr Fire, " Arthur Dong's quietly vastatg documentary film about homosexualy the ary durg World War II, are terviews wh 10 gay men and women who served the armed, like Phillis Abry, a rad technician the Women's Army Corps, were able to rry on homosexual relatnships whout beg tected and received honorable discharg. Others, like Marv Liebman, who was the special servic of the Uned Stat Army Air Corps, were intified as gay, havg "psychopathic" personali, and were discharged as the wch-hunt atmosphere that pervad the ary toward the end of the war, people spected of beg gay were relentlsly terrogated and manipulated to intifyg other homosexuals.

THAI BL/GAY - BL AND GAY DRAMAS AND MOVI OM THAILAND

As beme clear that thoands of gay men and lbians had chosen to serve, a climate of relative tolerance abptly gave way to an atmosphere of paranoia and nunciatn that creased even after the war end.

The wch-huntg reached s peak the early 50's the McCarthy era when the State Department dismissed hundreds of gay and lbian employe as alleged secury film, which is based on Allan Bebe's history of gay men and women World War II, also has scen suggtg that spe the official nmnatn of homosexualy, gay and straight servicemen and women uld -exist harmonly.

Even those who went untected and received honorable discharg rell that when the wch hunts began they had to modify their behavr and start lookg over their film sets the events agast a backdrop of the Congrsnal heargs last year on homosexuals the ary.

‘ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE NAZIS’: THE FILM ABOUT GERMANY’S POSTWAR PERSECUTN OF GAY MEN

Different om the Others (1919)Co-wrten by Atrian filmmaker Richard Oswald and sexologist Magn Hirschfeld, morn father of the study of human sexualy, the German silent film Different om the Others exriat societal homophobia Weimar Berl. Wh sights centred on Paragraph 175, the provisn the German penal that crimalised homosexualy, tells the tragic tale of Pl Körner (Conrad Veidt, later seen The Cabet of Dr Caligari and Casablan), a talented gay vlist blackmailed after ught elopg wh a male stunt. It’s a fascatg social document: rarely are we afford such a ndid look at gay life the post-Stonewall and, ed, only 4 years after the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn had formally pathologised homosexualy.

"COMG OUT UNR FIRE": THE STORY OF GAY AND LBIAN SERVICEMEMBERS

Nighthawks (1978)Nighthawks is a fascatg cultural artefact, pturg a very specific moment Brish queer history: ’s 1978, 11 years after the Sexual Offenc Act 1967 crimalised homosexual acts, and jt 3 years prr to the advent of HIV/AIDs.

As a historil document, then, serv as a transatlantic unterweight to William Friedk’s Cisg (1980); though the latter has been cricised as an exploative slasher, also renrs the very specific historil perd ntled between the early thro of gay liberatn and the onset of the AIDs epimic.

Set agast the backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance, Isaac Julien’s film is as much a celebratn of Black gay love as is of prospery, or a reclamatn of the Black, gay lerary tradn hherto supprsed.

GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME

That unbearable, paful erotic tensn is more or ls the staed mood of Oliver Herman’ shimmerg and sensual ary drama “Moffie, ” which is easily the bt movie about gay male reprsn sce “God’s Own Country.

I WAS TEAM DESANTIS BEFORE HIS DISGTG ANTI-GAY AD

It’s an adaptatn of a novel by French liberte and gay in Jean Ge, settlg to a French port cy where a madame played by Jeanne More ns the world, and sailors engage explic sex acts that turn vlent. Ala Guirdie’s sexy and sry “Stranger by the Lake” has earned cricisms for nflatg homosexualy wh crimaly, but ’s hard not to be drawn to the world of a nu beach that serv as a regular cisg spot for lonely gay men.

Risg star Josh O’Connor will soon steam up the tennis world Lu Guadagno’s “Challengers, ” set for a 2023 release, but he first ught the world’s eye Francis Lee’s blisterg gay farm romance om 2017.

Atrian filmmaker Sebastian Meise’s tickg clock of a drama — regrettably missg om the Osr nome this year for ternatnal feature — crisscross the repeated imprisonments of a gay German man played by Franz Rogowski between the end of World War II and the emergence of a new gay outspokenns the late ’60s. In that span of time, to be homosexual was to still feel shackled to the persecutn nightmare of Hler’s reign, bee while the German penal provisn that jailed gay men — Paragraph 175 — was passed 1871, and saw s most btal prosecutn durg the Nazi years, stayed on the books for s after the ’s 1968 when we meet Hans (Rogowski), who looks unfazed at beg tried and sentenced for havg sex wh men.