Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

This early Wolfgang Petersen film tackles the controversial theme of inter-generational gay love with distinction.A convict, Martin, was jailed for having a sexual relationship with a fifteen year old boy. Martin is an actor and while in jail produces a play written by one of his fellow inmates. He needs a young actor and the son of the jail warden, Thomas, volunteers. Thomas, who is sixteen but looks about 20 (my only - minor - gripe about this film) clearly has gay tendencies and develops a crush on Martin. A relationship results with Thomas illegally staying over in Martin's cell. One of the inmates spills the beans and Martin's parole gets cancelled. He keeps in contact with Thomas, and when released they continue their relationship. Martin decides to play open cards with Thomas's father and informs him about their relationship. The callous warden subsequently stops the relationship en sends his son to a reformatory. It turns into a nightmare for the young man, and changes him psychologically, resulting in serious depression, and worse.This somber film, suitably filmed in B/W, boasts great performances by the protagonists. Directing and script were excellent, with the viewer made aware that some tragedy was in the making, right from the first few minutes. I score this excellent film 8/10.

"Die Konsequenz" is a West German 100-minute film from 1977, which means this one will have its 40th anniversary next year. And even if this is a very long time, it is still somewhat strange to see a film from the late 1970s still in black-and-white. But it did not hurt the movie at all, possibly even helped it. The director here is Wolfgang Petersen and he is also the one who adapted Alexander Ziegler's novel for the screen here. Ziegler was still alive when this one came out. He committed suicide about a decade later. Petersen worked with Jürgen Prochnow on several occasions and most people will immediately think of "Das Boot", but this one here is the much better collaboration between the two, even if it is not very known outside (maybe even inside) Germany. It should be though and I hope my review can make a few people curious about this movie. Prochnow plays a convict in here, who falls in love with one of the warden's sons (played by Ernst Hannawald in a career-defining performance). This is about the first half of the film only though.Everything that follows is about the duo's relationship. The boy's father does not agree with it and has the son sent to a very questionable correctional facility where one of the instructors severely hurts the boys physically if they don't obey his every word. Sadly this gruesome warden (probably the main antagonist of the film) gets lots of support from the institution's director (played by Hans-Michael Rehberg who is known to German film fans for sure), who absolutely has his back despite the unnecessary cruelty. When Prochnow's character finally manages to get his young lover out of his hellhole, more problems arise as friends turn into foes and agreements are broken.All in all, this is a very touching film. I thought it needed a bit to really suck me in and I did not care for the prison scenes early on too much, but everything afterward is a very thrilling and tense watch that had me at the edge of my seat. Prochnow and Schwuchow are outstanding, everybody else (including Hannawald) is really good too. It is very easy to feel for the couple and hope they will find a way to manage their struggles and overcome these obstacles that these dark times back them posed for homosexual couples. It is weird to imagine this film came out almost the very same time like "Taxi zum Klo". It is such a different film, even if the topic is somewhat similar.I was really positively surprised here and very much impressed by this little hidden gem. You already see from the title of my review how much I enjoyed the watch and felt for the characters. The biggest strength, however, apart from the acting is that this film uses homosexuality just as a framework and managed to construct an intriguing story inside that framework. Many many gay-themed (short) films use this subject as the core component of the story and occasionally don't even try to elaborate beyond that or, if they do, they frequently fail completely. But Petersen and Ziegler make all ends meet. You absolutely have to see how they did it exactly. Do not miss out on "The Consequence". This is my favorite 1977 film at this point.

I saw this film at the Gate Cinema near Bayswater, over twenty years ago. It was searingly good, in story content, composition and style. I was left feeling such a strong sense of anger at the way the two principal characters were hounded, anger at the bigotry and hypocrisy of those in authority, and desperately saddened by the outcome. This reflected my own feeling of dejection, rejection and utter desolation. From time to time over the past twenty or so years, I have thought of this film, especially the scene at a railway station where the two, almost against the odds, meet up and reaffirm their love for each other. It seems as if all will now be okay and that they might make away from their 'prison' but this moment of hope is destroyed so unexpectedly, and ruthlessly, that it would have been better if they had never met again. I hunted the film database to find this film, just so that I may at last tell someone else something about it, and to urge you to view it if you can get hold of a copy.

The Consequence is a Black & White,poignant & at times sad movie about the cruel treatment of Homosexuals in Prisons & other institutions in West Germany during the 1970's.This 1977 film, was directed by WOLFGANG PETERSON, this was only his fourth film (4 years later he made DAS BOOT).The screenplay was by Alex Zeigler who adapted his novel to the screen. The star is JURGEN PROCHNOW (before he starred in DAS BOOT & is now one of Germany's leading actors. Here is portrays a convict who happens to care too much for young lads. He is also an actor who is appearing in a prison play, The wardens not yet 18 year old son is also in the play. You guessed it, they fall in love & this is what the rest of the film is about,there lives & affair over the next few years in & out of prisons & other institutions.18 year old Ernest Hannawald (in his first role) plays the young NOT SO INNOCENT young man. He does show some promise & has been on German TV over the years.It is a sad but poignant tale, well acted & well made,This was filmed in Black & White. The English sub-titles are clear & easy to read.For an early film by both director & star,it shows future promise,which we know has born fruition.I liked it BUT did not feel it was that worthwhile a movie to rave about,.It had a very limited release in the US & maybe elsewhere as well. I happen to be only the second person in 8 years to comment on the film. There have been better films on this subject over the years. Some of you may like it better than I did.See it for the star & director & the following reason, It is also very interesting to see how Homosexuals were thought of & treated in Europe back in the seventies.Ratings *** (out of 4) 81 points (out of 100) IMDb 7 out of 10