Another Country

I just finished finally watching Another Country on Netflix, and I really liked it. I'd been curious about it for years but never "in the mood" until this week. It stars Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, and Cary Elwes, all ages 22-25 at the time. It's a sensitive and thoughtful film adaptation of a play portraying the based-on-truth story (with plenty of artistic license) of a young gay guy, Guy Bennett (the actual person's name was Guy Burgess), who became a spy for Russia, and his Marxist friend, Tommy Judd, and their experiences as inside outsiders at an English boys' school. The rigid social stricture steeped in tradition, the control of hypocritical hierarchy (no, I am not alluding to Church leadership), the alienation from one's "home", and the personal journey of realizing it's "not just a game" stood out to me.

Keep in mind, it's a dry British film from the eighties, so you're not going to find a fast-paced, rapid-fire plot, flouncing drag queens, or a glittery musical score here. And it's rated PG, so it's not "spiced up" with some hot mancandy or saucy dialog. It's understated and even a bit bland at times, particularly the beginning and ending (the end left me a bit flat), but I liked it and recommend it to those of you who are into that sort of thing. :-)


Apparently, someone's posted it to YouTube as well: