Watching director Sebastian Meise’s “Great Freedom” is a process of watching the main character, Hans Hoffmann (Franz Rogowski), get brutalized and dehumanized. The narrative takes place almost entirely in prison over a period of around 25 years, with Hans repeatedly put into the dark of solitary confinement, and this return to solitary acts as a linking device for Meise, whose screenplay with co-writer Thomas Reider is intricately structured.
“Great Freedom” begins with grainy color footage of Hans in a public lavatory as he hooks up with a series of men, and the furtive vibe is erotic until we are made to realize that what we are seeing is film being used against Hans in court. It is 1968 in Germany, and Hans is being prosecuted under Paragraph 175, which criminalized homosexuality. He is sentenced to 24 months in prison.
The style of “Great Freedom” is cool, measured and austere, with near-invisible editing and barely any score.
“Great Freedom” begins with grainy color footage of Hans in a public lavatory as he hooks up with a series of men, and the furtive vibe is erotic until we are made to realize that what we are seeing is film being used against Hans in court. It is 1968 in Germany, and Hans is being prosecuted under Paragraph 175, which criminalized homosexuality. He is sentenced to 24 months in prison.
The style of “Great Freedom” is cool, measured and austere, with near-invisible editing and barely any score.
- 3/3/2022
- by Dan Callahan
- The Wrap
In most stories, the liberation of the concentration camps is the beginning of the end of a nightmare. But Austrian film “Great Freedom” shows that the truth wasn’t as simple for everyone. In many cases, LGBTQ+ concentration camp inmates were simply transferred to prison cells.
That’s the most inhuman scandal explored in director Sebastian Meise’s Cannes Un Certain Regard winner: Germany’s Paragraph 175, a provision of a German criminal code that reigned from 1871 to (shockingly) early 1994, criminalizing all homosexual acts between men. The story is told through the eyes and heavy, wearied soul of the fictional Hans Hoffmann, who is repeatedly imprisoned over decades in post-World War II Germany for being gay. He’s played by Franz Rogowski, the muse of German director Christian Petzold and one of the most striking actors working in European cinema and beyond.
Over the course of his imprisonment, Hans forms a...
That’s the most inhuman scandal explored in director Sebastian Meise’s Cannes Un Certain Regard winner: Germany’s Paragraph 175, a provision of a German criminal code that reigned from 1871 to (shockingly) early 1994, criminalizing all homosexual acts between men. The story is told through the eyes and heavy, wearied soul of the fictional Hans Hoffmann, who is repeatedly imprisoned over decades in post-World War II Germany for being gay. He’s played by Franz Rogowski, the muse of German director Christian Petzold and one of the most striking actors working in European cinema and beyond.
Over the course of his imprisonment, Hans forms a...
- 1/18/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Leading arthouse sales agency The Match Factory has debuted the international trailer (see below) for the gripping, tender-hearted prison drama “Great Freedom,” which won the Jury Prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, and has revealed the latest list of international distributors. Sebastian Meise’s film was selected recently as Austria’s candidate in the Best International Feature Film Oscars race.
“Great Freedom” has sold to the following territories: Ex-Yugo (McF Megacom), Australia/New Zealand (Madman), Benelux (Imagine Film), Denmark (Ost for Paradis), Baltics (A-One), France (Paname), Greece (Ama Films), Israel (Lev Cinemas), U.S./U.K./Eire/Latam/Turkey/India (Mubi), Mexico (Cine Canibal), Sweden (Lucky Dogs), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Spain (Vertigo Films), and Poland (Tongariro).
The film is set in post-war Germany, where Hans is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. Due to paragraph 175 of the penal code his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The...
“Great Freedom” has sold to the following territories: Ex-Yugo (McF Megacom), Australia/New Zealand (Madman), Benelux (Imagine Film), Denmark (Ost for Paradis), Baltics (A-One), France (Paname), Greece (Ama Films), Israel (Lev Cinemas), U.S./U.K./Eire/Latam/Turkey/India (Mubi), Mexico (Cine Canibal), Sweden (Lucky Dogs), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Spain (Vertigo Films), and Poland (Tongariro).
The film is set in post-war Germany, where Hans is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. Due to paragraph 175 of the penal code his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The...
- 10/18/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Austria Selects Great Freedom For Oscars
Austria has selected Sebastian Meise’s Great Freedom as its official submission for Best International Feature Film for the 94th Academy Awards. Set in post-war Germany, the movie tells the story of Hans who is imprisoned time and time again for being homosexual. Due to Paragraph 175, which prohibited homosexual acts in Germany, his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cellmate, Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a convicted murderer. The film stars Franz Rogowski (Victoria) and Berlinale Silver Bear awardee Georg Friedrich (The Piano Teacher) in leading roles, with a screenplay by Thomas Reider and Meise. Producers are Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, and Benny Drechsel. The 2021 Cannes entry and Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner will be released by Mubi theatrically in the U.S. and UK on March 4, 2022. Meanwhile, per the Japanese Filmmakers Federation, Japan has...
Austria has selected Sebastian Meise’s Great Freedom as its official submission for Best International Feature Film for the 94th Academy Awards. Set in post-war Germany, the movie tells the story of Hans who is imprisoned time and time again for being homosexual. Due to Paragraph 175, which prohibited homosexual acts in Germany, his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cellmate, Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a convicted murderer. The film stars Franz Rogowski (Victoria) and Berlinale Silver Bear awardee Georg Friedrich (The Piano Teacher) in leading roles, with a screenplay by Thomas Reider and Meise. Producers are Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, and Benny Drechsel. The 2021 Cannes entry and Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner will be released by Mubi theatrically in the U.S. and UK on March 4, 2022. Meanwhile, per the Japanese Filmmakers Federation, Japan has...
- 10/12/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman and Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Great Freedom’ Review: A Gay Convict Bides His Time for Change in This Terrific German Prison Drama
Like a scene of the 1969 moon landing seen on a prison TV late in “Great Freedom” — “I thought it would be more exciting,” muses one inmate — seismic change seems less spectacular when charted against the everyday grind of life behind bars in this gripping, tender-hearted prison drama from Austrian director Sebastian Meise. That extends to another historical milestone from the same summer: the West German authorities’ easing of Paragraph 175, by which men had hitherto been imprisoned for homosexual acts. Following the decades leading up to this change through the eyes of one repeat offender, Meise’s film is an exquisite marriage of personal, political and sensual storytelling, its narrative and temporal drift tightened by another performance of quietly piercing vulnerability from Franz Rogowski.
“Great Freedom” arrives a full 10 years after Meise’s first fiction feature, the complex, controversial family drama “Still Life,” and duly confirms all the poised promise of...
“Great Freedom” arrives a full 10 years after Meise’s first fiction feature, the complex, controversial family drama “Still Life,” and duly confirms all the poised promise of...
- 7/26/2021
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Streamer and theatrical distributor Mubi has closed its first on-the-ground Cannes business, signing a multi-territory deal for Sebastian Meise’s second feature Great Freedom, which premiered here in Un Certain Regard.
The deal was struck with sales outfit The Match Factory and covers North America, UK, Ireland, Latam (excluding Mexico), Turkey and India.
The film, written by Thomas Reider and Meise, is set in post-war Germany and tells the story of Hans (Franz Rogowski) who is imprisoned time and time again for being homosexual. Due to Paragraph 175, which prohibited homosexual acts in Germany, his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cellmate, Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a convicted murderer.
Pic was produced by Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, and Benny Drechsel. Anton Von Lucke and Thomas Prenn star alongside Rogowski and Fredrich
Mubi is having a busy 2021 Cannes, striking deals for a host of titles pre-market,...
The deal was struck with sales outfit The Match Factory and covers North America, UK, Ireland, Latam (excluding Mexico), Turkey and India.
The film, written by Thomas Reider and Meise, is set in post-war Germany and tells the story of Hans (Franz Rogowski) who is imprisoned time and time again for being homosexual. Due to Paragraph 175, which prohibited homosexual acts in Germany, his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cellmate, Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a convicted murderer.
Pic was produced by Sabine Moser, Oliver Neumann, and Benny Drechsel. Anton Von Lucke and Thomas Prenn star alongside Rogowski and Fredrich
Mubi is having a busy 2021 Cannes, striking deals for a host of titles pre-market,...
- 7/12/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Leading arthouse sales company The Match Factory has pre-sold Austrian director and screenwriter Sebastian Meise’s second feature “Great Freedom,” which plays in Un Certain Regard at Cannes on Thursday, to Paname Distribution in France. The Match Factory has debuted the teaser and the poster for the film, which was created by Vasilis Marmatakis, the designer of the artwork for Yorgos Lanthimos’ films.
The film is set in post-war Germany, where Hans is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. Due to paragraph 175 of the penal code his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cell mate, Viktor, a convicted murderer. What starts as revulsion grows into something called love.
“Great Freedom” stars Franz Rogowski (“A Hidden Life”) and Berlinale Silver bear awardee Georg Friedrich (“Helle Nächte”) in the leading roles.
In his director’s statement, Meise said: “Imagine a world...
The film is set in post-war Germany, where Hans is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. Due to paragraph 175 of the penal code his desire for freedom is systematically destroyed. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his long-time cell mate, Viktor, a convicted murderer. What starts as revulsion grows into something called love.
“Great Freedom” stars Franz Rogowski (“A Hidden Life”) and Berlinale Silver bear awardee Georg Friedrich (“Helle Nächte”) in the leading roles.
In his director’s statement, Meise said: “Imagine a world...
- 7/7/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
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