GREAT FREEDOM (12A) HHHHI
A charismatic turn from German actor Franz Rogowski anchors this gritty prison drama.
Rogowski, who reminded me of a young De Niro, plays Hans Hoffmann, who in 1968 is sent to jail for “deviant sexual practices” under the now infamous Paragraph 175 of German law.
Arriving in prison, he recognises Leo, a young teacher (Anton von Lucke) who was arrested in the same sting operation in a public toilet frequented by gay men.
Protecting Leo from a gang earns him a stint in solitary confinement. When the door slams, the screen turns black and a now moustacheless Hans emerges in 1945. Fresh from a Nazi concentration camp, Hans is serving another sentence for a similar sex crime.
We have to keep an eye on Hans’ facial hair as the film skips between 1945, 1968 and 1957 to sketch his life behind bars. His routine rarely changes but his relationship with his homophobic, drug-addicted, convicted murderer cellmate (Georg Friedrich) develops into a toughyet-tender alliance.
In cinemas now