Grosse Freiheit
Freedom has returned to postwar Germany. However not for former Auschwitz prisoner Hans Hoffmann because of his homosexuality, a punishable offense under Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code. Time and again, Hans ends up in prison. This is how he meets Viktor, a convicted murderer and his cellmate. Initially, Viktor doesn't want anything to do with him, but something changes when he sees the tattooed camp number on Hans' arm. In the years following, the two men develop an unlikely bond.
Grosse Freiheit, director Sebastian Meise's second feature, is not only an indictment of the disgraceful Paragraph 175, but also an ode to love, an irrepressible, essential emotion. The film direction, the excellent acting of Franz Rogowski and Georg Friedrich, as well as the superb screenplay by Thomas Reider and Meise himself make for a moving drama that lingers for a long time. Awarded in Cannes and elsewhere.
