''Die Konsequenz'' (''The Consequence'') is a

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

made for television

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

directed and co-written by

Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen (14 March 1941 – 12 August 2022) was a German film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. His international breakthrough was the 1981 war film (1981), which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Directo ...

, starring

Jürgen Prochnow Jürgen Prochnow (; born 10 June 1941) is a German actor. His international breakthrough was his portrayal of the good-hearted and sympathetic U-boat Commander "Der Alte" ("Old Man") in the 1981 war film ''Das Boot''. He is also known for his r ...

and Ernst Hannawald. The screenplay is an

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

of the 1975

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel, also known as an autobiographical fiction, fictional autobiography, or autobiographical fiction novel, is a type of novel which uses autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The ...

of the same name by Alexander Ziegler, who also co-wrote with Petersen. The film premiered on ARD on 8 November 1977.

Plot

Gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

actor Martin Kurath is serving a prison sentence when he develops a friendship with Thomas Manzoni, the 16-year-old son of a prison guard. The two fall in love and yearn for Kurath's release. This triggers intense indignation in their surroundings. After Kurath is released a year later, Thomas tells his parents he is a homosexual and is disowned by his father. Kurath and Thomas move in together and Thomas enrolls in school. Thomas' father, however, has him arrested and committed to a brutal reformatory. Kurath obtains a fake passport and poses as a psychology doctoral candidate and helps Thomas escape with him to Germany. They are betrayed by a German homosexual friend of Kurath's who insists, in Kurath's absence, that Thomas become his lover in order to obtain a German residency permit. Thomas does so, but then refuses to sleep with the betrayer, is kicked out and prostitutes himself. Broken by these experiences, he voluntarily returns to the reformatory. When he comes of age and is released, he is so psychologically damaged that, despite a reunion with Kurath, he attempts suicide and is committed to a psychiatric hospital. He escapes and the film ends with a TV announcement that the police are looking for him and that members of the public should, if approaching him, treat him gently, as he is very depressed and confused.

Literary original

The novel ''Die Konsequenz'', which reads like the diary of Martin Kurath, is set in 1974. Swiss author Alexander Ziegler processed his personal experiences in the book. He himself served two and a half years in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

for "seducing an innocent underaged person to unnatural sexual acts".

Film production

Alexander Ziegler contributed personally in the collaboration of

Bernd Eichinger Bernd Eichinger (; 11 April 194924 January 2011) was a German film producer, screenwriter, and director. Life and career Eichinger was born in Neuburg an der Donau. He attended the University of Television and Film Munich in the 1970s and b ...

's 1977 adaptation of the novel and with the director

. ''Die Konsequenz'' was

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

and filmed in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 mm and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It ...

. The soundtrack was composed by Nils Sustrate. In March 2008, the film was released on DVD as part of a complete works edition of director Wolfgang Petersen's films (size: 22 DVDs).

Controversy

The original version of the film received a ''Wertvoll'' (i.e. "recommended") quality award in the German '' Filmprädikat'' rating scheme, but was censored due to its perceived incendiary content in the first television broadcast on ARD on November 8, 1977, and regional affiliate

Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...

refused to relay the transmission signal. The novel and film had a pivotal role in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in starting a dialogue on the topic of homosexuality, a role analogous to that played by the works of

Roger Peyrefitte Pierre Roger Peyrefitte (; 17 August 1907 – 5 November 2000) was a French diplomat, writer of bestseller novels and non-fiction, and a defender of gay rights and pederasty. Life and work Born in Castres, Tarn, to a middle-class bourgeo ...

in France."En Allemagne, un rôle analogue revint au roman d’Alexander Ziegler, Die Konsequenz (1975), porté à l’écran et diffusé en novembre 1977. Le film, bien que partiellement censuré – et non diffusé par la télévision bavaroise – eut un écho retentissant, fit de l’homosexualité un sujet de société et offrit à des milliers d’individus l’occasion de rompre le silence. Certes, ce fut la télévision qui permit de toucher des millions d’Allemands et de Français mais dans les deux cas, ce fut la finesse littéraire de deux écrivains, Roger Peyrefitte et Alexander Ziegler, qui fit vibrer la corde sensible des téléspectateurs." Benoît PIVERT, "Homosexualité(s) et littérature: Appel à contribution" in ''CAHIERS DE LA RAL,M nº 10

Reviews

Awards

Adolf Grimme Awards The Grimme-Preis (Grimme Award), formerly known as the Adolf-Grimme-Preis, is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme. The Grimme Institute ...

1977

Literature

* Alexander Ziegler: ''Die Konsequenz''. , Fischer-TB 3407, Frankfurt am Main, 1978 * Wolfgang Petersen and Ulrich Greiwe (editors): ''Die Resonanz. Briefe und Dokumente zum Film "Die Konsequenz"'' , Fischer-TB 3423, Frankfurt am Main, 1980

References

External links

* *
gay-web.de
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konsekvenz, die 1977 films 1977 television films 1977 LGBTQ-related films Gay-related films German LGBTQ-related films West German films German drama television films 1970s German-language films German-language television shows German black-and-white films Censorship in Germany Films based on Swiss novels Films set in Switzerland Films produced by Bernd Eichinger Films directed by Wolfgang Petersen Television shows based on Swiss novels Grimme-Preis for fiction winners 1970s German films Das Erste original programming LGBTQ-related romantic drama films