Na Alemanha do pós-guerra, Hans é constantemente preso por ser homossexual. Devido ao parágrafo 175 do código penal alemão, que tornava atos homossexuais entre homens um crime, sua liberdade é destruída de forma sistemática. O único relacionamento estável em sua vida será com seu companheiro de cela de longa data, Viktor, um assassino condenado. O que começa como repulsa, logo se transformará em amor. Representante da Áustria no Oscar 2022 de Filme Internacional e um dos 15 semifinalistas. Vencedor do Prêmio do Júri da seção Um Certo Olhar do Festival de Cannes 2021. Seleção da Mostra de Cinema de São Paulo 2021.
It's curious to think that it is only fairly recently (1994!) that West Germany abolished it's odious "paragraph 175" legislation that imposed criminal penalties on homosexual men. Franz Rogowski is "Hoffman", a serial cottager who is frequently imprisoned for breaching this law. The film tells the rather bleak and depressing tale of his life spent behind bars: of his loves whilst there - notably with "Oskar" (Thomas Prenn) and "Leo" (Anton von Lucke); of his developing friendship with the straight and initially hostile "Viktor" (Georg Friedrich) and of the brutality of the prison system that reduced his quality of life to little more than that of street vermin. Rogowski (who reminds me a little of Joaquin Phoenix) is on good form as the story pans out; his character runs an whole gamut of emotions from love, despair, frustration and - very occasionally - joy, he even thinks of breaking out! By the time he is declared "legal", the character has become so institutionalised that freedom is nowhere near as attractive as he had expected it to be. It's not an easy film to watch, this one - made more potent by the fact the for much of the period he spent incarcerated, there were American soldiers guarding the jail too! The pace is slow, and the narrative switches timelines from time to time, so I needed to concentrate, but it is worth it if you are remotely interested in the ordeals of a man jailed just for being gay!
