BRATTLEBORO — The German film Before the Last Curtain Falls, directed by Thomas Wallner, won't be to everyone's taste. The film takes a heart-wrenching look at a group of gay and transsexual performers, in their 60s and 70s, who share their personal stories: coming out as gay, surgical procedures for some, and the challenges of present-day relationships.
The film requires the audience to explore a world still not widely known or understood, even in today's culture, where same-sex marriage is legal and we learn more about the transgender community every day. But those who accept the challenge to watch this film won't soon forget it.
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The film itself was started as a documentary about Gardenia, a cabaret show that toured for two years on five continents. The wonderful scenes from the cabaret are interspersed with more traditional documentary-style interviews with the performers backstage and in their homes.
One could wish for even more of the original cabaret scenes, which are dreamy and dance-like and costumed, but the show has now closed (the “last curtain” reference), and the film itself evolves into a fascinating exploration of the actors' poignant reflections on the theatrical experience and its importance in their lives.
The stories are brutally revealing. There are both sweet and painfully sad moments; scenes with people in costumes and then in regular dress; illuminating close-ups, with and without makeup.
We hear their stories of parents' support or lack thereof as these people began to understand their own sexuality and tried to share it with those closest to them.
We see photographs of those hanged in concentration camps because of their homosexuality and hear of more modern harassment and fears.
We hear how one became a prostitute for 13 years to pay for her surgery and of another, now too old to work as a prostitute, who cleans brothels for a living.
We hear how difficult it is for them to form relationships as they age.
The movie cleverly uses music to support its themes. Ravel's Bolero plays at the beginning and for the finale, mixed in with some Mahler, Puccini, and even Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
Before the Last Curtain Falls has been garnering important awards, like the jury award at the 2014 Atlanta Film Festival and a special jury prize at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
Wallner, the writer and director, has written eight other films and directed four, including The Guantanamo Trap (2011) and Tropicana (2009).
There are plenty of universal themes to be found in this film: maturing and aging and their effects on relationships; employment and one's physical condition. Theater-goers will viscerally experience what these performers are courageous enough to disclose: the melancholy, the humor, the failures and the triumphs, and the breadth and depths of their lives.