Great Freedom (Grosse Freiheit)

To purchase tickets, click on your chosen date and time below. Reminder: proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours is required to attend Speed Cinema screenings. Learn more >>

Previous Next

Great Freedom (Grosse Freiheit)
Directed by Sebastian Meise

Friday, March 25, 6 pm

Saturday, March 26, 3 pm

Saturday, March 26, 6 pm

Sunday, March 27, 12 pm

$12 / $8 Speed members

“An exquisite marriage of personal, political, and sensual storytelling.”—Guy Lodge, Variety

In Germany after WWII, the liberation by the Allies did not mean freedom for everyone. Hans (Franz Rogowski—last seen at the Speed Cinema in Undine) has been found guilty of something the government deems a crime: he is gay. Under the 19th-century German penal code known as Paragraph 175, homosexuality is grounds for imprisonment, and Hans–over the course of multiple decades–is spied on and repeatedly jailed solely for his sexuality.

As he returns to prison, again and again, Hans develops an ever-closer relationship with his cellmate Viktor (Georg Friedrich), a convicted murderer serving a life sentence. As their charged rapport blossoms over time into something far more tender, Great Freedom explores love, lost time, and the tenacity of the human spirit. Winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. 2021, Austria/Germany, DCP, in English and German with English subtitles, 116 minutes. Recommended for 17+.