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

1977 Events January * January 8 – 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 (now the Democratic R ...

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

made for television

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by

Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen (14 March 1941 – 12 August 2022) was a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for the World War II submarine warfare film ''Das Boot'' (1981). His other films include ''The Ne ...

. 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 po ...

of the 1975

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. ...

of the same name by Alexander Ziegler. 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 1 ...

actor Martin Kurath (Jürgen Prochnow) who is in prison develops a friendship with Thomas Manzoni (Ernst Hannawald), the 15-year-old son of the prison warden (Lüönd). The two fall in love and they both yearn for Kurath's release. This triggers intense indignation in their surroundings. After Kurath is released a year later, Thomas, accompanied by Kurath, tells his parents he is a homosexual. His father tells him to leave and never return. Kurath and Thomas move in together and Thomas enrolls in school. Thomas' father, however, then has him arrested and condemned 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 reaches 21 and is released, he is so psychologically damaged that, despite 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 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. The Swiss 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 (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

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

Film production

Alexander Ziegler contributed personally in the collaboration of Bernd Eichinger'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 or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

and filmed in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...

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

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

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

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

Roger Peyrefitte Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

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 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 LGBT-related films Gay-related films German LGBT-related films West German films German 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