You Are Not Alone (film)

''You Are Not Alone'' ( da, Du er ikke alene) is a 1978 Danish coming-of-age film written by Lasse Nielsen and Bent Petersen, directed by Lasse Nielsen and Ernst Johansen, and produced by Steen Herdel.

Synopsis

Set in a Danish all-boys boarding school, one of the boys, Bo ( Anders Agensø), develops a special relationship with the headmaster's young son, Kim (Peter Bjerg). At the beginning of the film, the headmaster is trying to get funding for a new gym for the school. The boarding school is likely a Christian one, as they have school prayer and the teachers keep referring to good Christian morals.

In another plotline, a troubled student is expelled for displaying sexually charged posters. Some of the students decide to protest this by walking out of classes. The boy is eventually allowed to return to school so that he may graduate. At the year-end graduation ceremony, the boys present to the entire school and their families a short film they have made, based on the commandment "Love thy neighbour".

Cast

* Anders Agensø as Bo
* Peter Bjerg as Kim
* Ove Sprogøe as Kims father - Forstander
* Elin Reimer as Kim's mother
* Jan Jørgensen as Lærer Jens Carstensen
* Jørn Faurschou as Lærervikar Andersen
* Merete Axelberg as Lærer Mortensen
* John Hahn-Petersen as Lærer Justesen
* Hugo Herrestrup as Conradsen
* Beatrice Palner as Fru Jensen
* Aske Jacoby as Aske
* Ole Meyer as Ole

Controversy

The film stills holds up as being somewhat controversial, particularly in the United States, not only for its subject matter of an adolescent same-sex romance, but also for its scene that shows both young lead actors; Agensø (age 16 at the time) and Bjerg (who was 12) in full frontal nudity, taking a shower together and sharing a swift hug. At the end of the film Bo takes off his younger friend Kim's shirt, and they both share a romantic lengthy French kiss.

Regarding Bo's and Kim's relationship, when director Lasse Nielsen was asked if the film could be made today he responded: "No, I don’t believe the film could be made today. We have an unfortunate situation of self-censorship these days".

However he also commented on the world's view on homosexuality by stating: "In many ways, there is more tolerance. On YouTube, for example, you can see many young boys "coming out" as gay. And – at least in Denmark – parents are becoming more accepting. I’m not sure there has been much progress in U.S.A. however, where many young gay teenagers are still driven to suicide because of general and specific social harassment".

Sexual abuse

In 2018, likely as a result of the MeToo movement, six male and sixteen female former child actors accused the two directors of sexual abuse during the production of ''You Are Not Alone'' and other films. The accusations were covered widely in Danish media, and Ernst Johansen admitted to having had sex with under-age female actors, but claims to not having been aware of the age of consent (15 years in Denmark), and that the girls made a pass on him first.

References

Literature

* Murray, Raymond: ''Images in the Dark: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video''. N.Y., TLA Publications, 1994.

External links

*
* {{AllMovie title, 55860, You Are Not Alone

Lasse Nielsen on his film ” You Are Not Alone “

1978 films
1970s Danish-language films
Danish LGBT-related films
1978 romantic drama films
Teen LGBT-related films
1978 LGBT-related films
LGBT-related controversies in film
LGBT-related coming-of-age films
Gay-related films
LGBT-related drama films
Films set in boarding schools