Coming Out: Amazon.ca: Matthias Freihof, Dagmar Manzel, Dirk Kummer, Michael Gwisdek, Werner Dissel, Gudrun Ritter, Walfriede Schmitt, Axel Wandtke, Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss, Ren� Schmidt, Thomas Gumpert, Ursula Staack, Martin Schlesinger, Heiner Carow, Evelyn Carow, Horst Hartwig, Wolfram Witt: DVD

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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars good or bad, Feb 22 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Coming Out (DVD)

I did not know East Germany has produced movies like this one exploring homosexuality in a high school teacher, Phillip.

Many beautiful scenes and touching moments. The director was trying hard to explore the suppressed inner world struggles of the dual identity role, almost in all of us.

My problem with the movie is that many things were missing or the director forgot.

First Mattias, portrayed by Dirk Kummer, was such a success, but before the end, it was lost, after he found Phillips has a wife. If Phillip was indeed his dream man and had a huge impact on his life, his late behavor in the bar was rather stranger.

Phillip's figure was successfully presented in the first part of the movie, but in the last few moments when he finally was coming out, he became a weirdo.

In the end, I did not find that life is getting better for our human mankind from this movie, but rather depressing and a complete waste, which may not be what the director wanted to tell me.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Comming Out; a tragic yet haunting love story, Sep 30 2003

By

G. Balmes (westport, washington United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Coming Out (DVD)

Philipp (Matthias Freihol) is a High school literary teacher in East Berlin who falls in love with I assume another teacher who he accidently runs into and gives a bloody nose to. They start a relationship and move into together; one night Philipp visits a gay bay and meet Matthias (Dirk Kummer) a 19 year old (both actors are good looking too)at a Berlin gay bar; Philipp gets wasted and is carried home to Phillip's other apartment in lived in before he started the relationship with his girfriend by Matthias, who spend the night; Philipp is so drunk is remembers little of the affair and runs into Matthias again while waiting to purchase tickets for a show. They reminise about the night before and get reaquainted; all of this behind his girlfriends back.
The rest of the movie finds Philipp torn between his girlfriend and Matthias; tring to have his cake and eat it to (no pun intended) until all three meet at another event and Philipps finds his life falling apart at all ends; his mother finds out he's gay the girlfriend-wife spurns him and matthias is divestated by Philipps double life.

There is no happy ending here and I have found that foreign films are more true to life more indepth and multipli-dimensional than there U.S. counterparts.

This is a dark and sad film which I believe many of us gay people can relate to at least so aspect of it.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Deep, Feb 26 2003

By

Scott (Amsterdam) - See all my reviews

I first saw this film back in 1989, and fell in love with it.

A sensitive, moving and ultimately tragic story, this is the first and only feature film about gay life ever produced in communist East Germany. Ironically, I find it more open, real and honest than most Western films on the topic.

Also ironic - and symbolic - is the fact that it premiered on the very night the Berlin Wall came down. It is the story of Philipp (Matthias Freihol), a schoolteacher who has repressed his homosexuality in order to fit into the norm. Philipp meets a shy girl who falls for him, yet he cannot deny his burning desire for the sweet Matthias (Dirk Kummer).

It's a moving and passionate story, honestly told - without the shmultz so common in Western movies of the same genre. And Dirk Kummer is a beautiful man who gives a sensitive performance.

I recommend it very highly.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Dark and sad...but important
This movie is a bit "out there" with scenes that feel unrealistic or overdone. The whole nature of the movie is dark as others have menioned but the point of the movie is still... Read more

Published on Oct 21 2002 by kkirstein

2.0 out of 5 stars One Worthwhile Aspect: Dirk Kummer's performance
"Coming Out" certainly had a worthwhile aspect: Dirk Kummer, as the sensitive Matthias, gave an excellent performance, especially that scene where Matthias finds out that Phillip... Read more