You Are Not Alone (1978)

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The leisurely paced tale explores the relationship between 14 year-old Bo and Kim, 11, the younger son of the stern boarding school headmaster. Mounting school tensions over the expulsion of a troubled student threaten to sabotage the tranquility of the school.The film stills holds up in 2017 as being somewhat 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 both young lead actors; Agensø (age 15 at the time) and Bjerg (who was 12) in full frontal nudity, taking a shower together.Indeed, there are probably two things people will take away from this: one, the child nudity which strikes me as shocking that it passes the censors when it could be seen as pornography. And two, just how very "1970s" the film is with the hair and styles. I do not know much about Denmark, but it does not seem all that different from America culturally at the time.

I finally got a chance to watch a movie last week...it had been over a month! This movie tells the story of two young boys that fall in love, one a post-pubescent student at a boarding school, the other the pre-pubescent son of the school's headmaster.First, the movie is beautiful. The interaction between the two main characters is touching, and handled with tender care. The two young men (who are the actual ages they are portraying) are excellent and convincing in their roles...as are the other young actors who make up the rest of the students at the school. The interactions between all the characters in the movie are incredibly realistic...not sugar coated, or worse, over dramatized.There are issues, however, with this movie that make it less than excellent. For one, the script is terribly fragmented. For a while, you forget that there is supposed to be a relationship developing between the two main characters. The main storyline gets lost amongst a jumble of other side stories going on inside and outside of the schools walls. While these side stories don't dull down the movie (on the contrary, they are often humorous and charming), they strip any semblance of order and purpose from the narrative.The other issue is that all the other characters are either completely oblivious to the affection that Bo and Kim share (which is nearly impossible), or they don't care (which seems equally odd). While I've nothing against a story that is simple, innocent, and charming...you'd think that these two boys would suffer some of the hardships that come along with being young and gay. :giveup Overall, I applaud the movie for approaching it's subject material so openly, in a way that would NEVER be seen in an American film. The characters are engaging and a joy to watch. Too bad the story wasn't more cohesive. Still, worthy of a 7/10.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE is an excellent handling of a situation which exists in every culture on the planet. Pre and Adolescent boys develop "crushes" on one another as naturally as they breathe. In the United States, a so-called "open" society, this subject is not only taboo but handled with the vigor and hatred that marked the Salem witch trials of the 1600's.In this film, Bo and Kim, obviously care about one another in a loving way. The presentation of their affection is handled with sensitivity and taste. The only scene that might cause people to feel a bit uneasy is when one of the boys from the school is seduced by a female teacher in a secluded area of the school. Although the scene is heterosexual it brings to mind the case of teachers in the US who have had sexual relations with their adolescent charges.Sexual experimentation among peers is normal and, to my mind acceptable. Sex between adults and minors is not, simply because the "playing field" is not level. The adult can and usually does, lead the child to fulfill the adults sexual desire, leaving the child feeling cheap. dirty and defiled. As a cross reference of this point I suggest one views the excellent film entitled: RETURN TO INNOCENCE.Not to belabor the point, this film, YOU ARE NOT ALONE is a landmark production and presents the subject tastefully and frankly.

I saw "You Are Not Alone" years ago, when it first came out, and was prompted to write this after reading a rather dimwitted review that called it child porn. I guess this addled criticism was based on the shower scene. I can only respond that "A man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest." If that's all you take from this film, then that's all you deserve.Though this film will never get wide spread attention, it actually deserves the accolades for bravery and honesty that "Brokeback Mountain" received. And takes on a much more controversial topic. It is a touching and honest film, for those with a heart, and it has an appropriate subtext of class struggle and denunciation of warfare. It has wit as well. It's actually rather funny in many places. It has a 70's tone and score, with a 60's sense of innocence and idealism.But there is nudity and scenes of boys kissing one another. If you can't deal with real depictions of human sexuality, then maybe you'd better rent something off the Disney rack. This is not a film for the narrow-minded or those caustic neo-Victorians whose tedious maledictions are so unfortunately unavoidable now-a-days.I suggest you see it and decide for yourself. It is supposed be on DVD June of 2006, but you might have a hard time finding it on the shelves in "The Land Of The Free".