Coming Out.

Coming Out * Directed by Heiner Carow * Written by Wolfram Witt * Icestorm International

The central relationship in the absorbing 1989 East German film Coming Out--between teenage Matthias and 20-something Philipp, who has commitment issues--anticipated Queer as Folk by ten years. And like its English television counterpart, which revealed gay Manchester to the world, the movie is as much a coming-out for its city as it is for the characters who live there. Filmed on location behind the Berlin Wall, Coming Out put a face on East Berlin's gay folk for the first time. Indeed, it became a part of history--and an instant period piece--when on the night of its unveiling in 1989 the Wall was opened up, just a few blocks away from the theater. The movie's premiere gala became the coming-out party for an entire country.

Unlike most recent American coming-out movies, Coming Out (just released on U.S. video for the first time) focuses not on the teenager but on adult high-school teacher Philipp. Comfortable with a fiancee he acquires almost accidentally, he tries to ignore his gay inclinations, waffling even after a romantic night with Matthias. While the film clearly offers hope for Philipp--Matthias's accepting family, the close-knit comnunity of a local gay bar, a settled gay male couple--it's less a celebration of gay sexuality than a bittersweet reminder of those painful first steps.