Grosse Freiheit
Shattering prison drama about the tragic fate of homosexuals in post-war Germany, with a great leading role by the best German actor of this moment: Franz Rogowski.
When the Auschwitz survivors are released, Hans Hoffmann is straight taken to prison. Based on paragraph 175 of the German Penal Code, he is imprisoned again and again for being homosexual. The one steady relationship in his life becomes his homophobic cell mate, Viktor, a convicted murderer. What starts as revulsion grows into something special.
Director Sebastian Meise ingeniously intertwines three episodes from the life of Hans Hoffmann, in 1945, 1957 and 1968. The film was largely shot in an obsolete prison in Magdeburg. The magnificent leads are played by Franz Rogowski, known from TRANSIT, VICTORIA and UNDINE, and Georg Friedrich, known from the films of Ulrich Seidl. Winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.