Great Freedom (2021)

In post-war Germany, not everybody can enjoy freedom. Hans, a man who undergoes repeated prison time as he keeps being punished for his desires, experiences its passage differently from his recurring cellmate Viktor, a convicted murderer in it for the long haul. We begin in 1968, with Hans again arriving in prison. Viktor, an amateur tattoo artist, offers to cover up the camp number on Hans’ forearm. Over time, the two men will exchange moments of exposure and need. Their bond is shadowed throughout by Viktor’s deep-rooted homophobia and Paragraph 175, which criminalizes homosexuality. Despite all this, Hans and Viktor develop an unlikely bond. —Frank Liesenborgs Despite all the awards and accolades this movie has gotten the only redeeming value for me was when it ended after 2 hours. Being a gay man I have seen LGBTQ movies in most film festivals globally and this one was the worse to date.Liberation by the Allies does not mean freedom for all until Paragraph 175 of the penal code is lifted. Over the decades, the 2 leading men develop an unlikely bond which starts as revulsion but grows into affection. Their daily routines are tedious as would be expected in prison but the repetitiveness takes too much film time becoming boring. I will not spoil the ending but it sure does not give gay men much hope if they are newbies in the gay world.