The Circle
CAST: Matthias Hungerbuhler, Peter Jecklin DIRECTOR: Stefan Haupt PRIDE FILM SERIES
Zürich in the mid-1950s: The young shy teacher Ernst Ostertag (Matthias Hungerbühler) becomes a member of the gay organization DER KREIS (The Circle), whose publication unites the fragile yet vibrant post World War II gay community in Switzerland. Upon meeting cabaret singer and female impersonator Röbi Rapp (Sven Schelker), Ernst immediately falls head over heels in love with him, and he finds himself torn between his bourgeois existence and acceptance of his homosexuality. For Röbi, it is a relationship that proves to last a lifetime. Featuring a unique blend of narrative and documentary formats with the modern day protagonists commenting on the scripted sequences of the film, THE CIRCLE deftly charts the increasing repression against homosexuals in Zurich as the two young and very different men fight for their love, and, together with their friends, for the rights of gays.
This is a fascinating and often tumultuous story ...Abby Garnett, Village Voice
An intriguing combination of drama and documentary, this Swiss film tells a simple story that's compelling and still timely, addressing issues of equality and prejudice from an often startlingly personal perspective.Rich Cline, Contactmusic.com