"Anders als die Andern" or "Different from the Others" is a German black-and-white, silent film (soundtracks were added later) that runs for 50 minutes. It was probably a bit longer and parts may be lost from the original version written and directed by Richard Oswald. This film will soon have its 100th birthday, it is from 1919, and this makes the message in the movie extremely interesting. Homosexuality was considered abnormal back then, people were sent to doctors to be cured from this disease. this is also what the film shows. However, it supports homosexuals and this is a truly progressive message for its time. The couple is likable, the blackmailer is the bad guy. It should not come as a surprise that people who worked on this movie in major roles, probably had a tough time working successfully under the Nazi regime 2 decades later. Conrad Veidt (not only because of his participation in "Casablanca" was a big name back then and I can see why. Yes there is the usual unnecessary overacting from silent films, but he certainly has his good moments too and carries this film nicely from start to finish. Today, almost a century later, gay-themed (short) films are very frequent and frequently very bad. I wish the makers of this new generation of movie about this subject would watch stuff like "Anders als die Anderen". Maybe this could teach them how to make a quality film. Good watch and I recommend it.
