You Are Not Alone (1978 film)

You Are Not Alone
DanishDu er ikke alene
Directed byErnst Johansen
Lasse Nielsen
Written byLasse Nielsen
Bent Petersen
Produced bySteen Herdel
StarringAnders Agensø
Peter Bjerg
Ove Sprogøe
Elin Reimer
Jan Jørgensen
CinematographyHenrik Herbert
Edited byHanne Hass
Music bySebastian
Distributed byHorizon Films (U.S.)
Release date
  • 23 February 1978 (1978-02-23)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryDenmark
LanguageDanish

You Are Not Alone (Danish: 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.

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

Controversy

The film is 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 the young lead actors – Agensø was 16 and Bjerg was 12 – in full frontal nudity, taking a shower together and sharing a swift hug. At the end of the film the older boy removes the younger boy's shirt, and they share a prolonged French kiss.

When director Lasse Nielsen was asked in 2009 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".[1]

Sexual abuse

In 2018,[2] likely as a result of the MeToo movement,[3] 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.[2] The accusations were covered widely in Danish media, and Ernst Johansen admitted to sex with under-age female actors, but claims not to have been aware of the age of consent (15 years in Denmark), and that the girls made a pass at him first.[4]

References

  1. ^ "You Are Not Alone - an interview with Lasse Nielsen". The Sky Kid. Retrieved 27 Aug 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Børneskuespillere fra 1970'er-film fortæller om seksuelt misbrug". 14 March 2018.
  3. ^ Ashwini Tambe, "Reckoning with the Silences of #MeToo." Feminist studies 44.1 (2018): 197-203 online.
  4. ^ "Fem kvinder: Vi blev misbrugt og voldtaget som børn af filminstruktør Ernst Johansen - TV 2". 14 March 2018.

Literature

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