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Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Michael Jenn, Frederick Alexander, Robert Addie ... see more see more... , Philip Dupuy , Crispin Redman , Rupert Wainwright , Tristan Oliver , Ralph Perry-Robinson , Cary Elwes , Adrian Ross Magenty , Anna Massey , Betsy Brantley , Gideon Boulting , Arthur Howard , Tristram Jellinek , Llewellyn Rees , Ivor Roberts , Nicolas Rowe , Martin Wenner , Jeffry Wickham , Tristam Wymark , Guy Henry , Christopher Milburn , John C. Line , Kathleen Saint John , Geoffrey Bateman

A pair of British lads, one gay and one socialist, chafe at the restrictions of boarding school life in this period piece, which was adapted from Julian Mitchell's novel and play of the same name and ... read more read more...loosely based on the Burgess-Maclean spy scandal of the 1950s. In the 1930s, upper-class scions Tommy Judd (Colin Firth) and Guy Bennett (Rupert Everett) are both nearing the end of their careers at an unnamed public school that bears a striking resemblance to Eton. Tommy, a Marxist intellectual, refuses to participate actively in the school's rigid social hierarchy. But Guy, when not mooning after pretty boys, angles for a position next term as one of the "gods," or master prefects, of his house. When a faculty member stumbles onto the homosexual fumblings of a pair of students, one boy commits suicide and a scandal erupts. The administration and senior students do their best to ensure nothing of this sort ever sullies their reputation again. Considering that homosexual experimentation is rampant and that Guy has slept with most of the prefects in his house, the strict new rules leave a bad taste in his mouth. They also put a damper on his Wildean lifestyle, especially after he falls hopelessly in love with James Harcourt (Cary Elwes), a dreamy boy from one of the other houses. Things come to a head when autocratic prefect Fowler (Tristan Oliver) intercepts a letter from Guy to James and sentences Guy to a savage beating. By film's end, Guy's complicity in the power games of the British class system has been challenged, and his friend Tommy's communist dogma has made a lasting impression; a framing device portrays Guy as an elderly former spy living in exile in Soviet Moscow. Another Country was shot at Cambridge, Oxford, and Althorp Hall (Princess Diana's childhood home) after the producers were denied permission to shoot at Eton. Everett and Firth both appeared in the original London theater production alongside Kenneth Branagh and Daniel Day-Lewis; on-stage, it was actually Firth who played Guy. For a more factual account of the Burgess-Maclean affair, see the TV movie An Englishman Abroad. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

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69% liked it

4,215 ratings

PG, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Marek Kanievska

Release Date: June 29, 1984

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DVD Release Date: September 7, 2004

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Flixster Reviews (150)

  • FrizzDrop
    May 4, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Another Country is always trying to be far more complex than it actually is. Fusing together themes of homosexuality, Communism, and the system of prefects in British boarding schools in the 1930's, it becomes a haphazard maze of inconsistencies and irritating subtext. Rupert Eve... read morerett, the only shining light of the entire film, is only sparingly announced as gay amongst his peers, most of whom are so desperate for companionship that they have secret trysts with members of their classes. (Other notable roles go to very young Colin Firth and Cary Elwes.) With his usual suave flair and youthful grandeur, Everett is just sly enough not to outright confess throughout the plot that his sexuality is based on himself and not his situation. The prefect system on the other hand is both an annoying subplot, and supposedly overbearing presence in the lives of the schoolmates. Besides being terribly boring and longwinded, the absence of fear was evident on the screen. It didn't help that the score was yet another unpleasant 80's concoction, or that the wardrobe was peculiar for the time period.
  • SunilJawahir
    March 3, 2009
    SunilJawahir
    It's alright.
  • dredzag
    November 25, 2009
    dredzag
    Was fun to see a young Colin Firth, Rupert Everett and a really young Cary Elwes(I didnt know he was British) but aside from that I didnt much enjoy the film.
  • blueowlboy
    May 23, 2007
    blueowlboy
    So, the true story behind it is fascinating... as is the movie! Everett and Firth are brilliant -- and Cary Elwes is so earnest
  • cecelia14
    March 29, 2007
    cecelia14
    A movie I've adored forever - the reason I adore Mr. Everett. He and Colin Firth shine in this one like the great talents they are.
  • wizardoftacoma
    January 18, 2007
    wizardoftacoma
    This is an interesting story for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is based on a true story originally set as a play on the English stage. Secondly, even though it is not new, the subject matter and secondary story line are as fresh as todays headlines
  • rcwiles
    January 18, 2007
    rcwiles
    Another Gay Boy flick, for a romantic edge. Saw it on video when it was first out, it will always be associated with hot-nite that was still a Mistake for me. :)

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Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy
January 6, 2009
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Elegantly shot, this fictionalized version of the British gay spy Guy Burgess, is intelligent but not entirely satisfying; even so, the young Rupert Everett and Colin Firth give splendid performances. Full Review

Nick Davis
June 4, 2003
Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks

One of those sad affairs that commits exactly the sorts of errors that the filmmakers pretend to indict in wider society. Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Vincent Canby
June 4, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Dave Kehr
June 4, 2003
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

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Philip Martin
May 15, 2006
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

Geoff Andrew
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

June 4, 2003
Film4

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Another Country Trivia

  • What is the name of the movie where Bruce Willis tries to save many people in Africa from being killed. He leads them through a jungle to another country?  Answer »
  • in Garfield 2, Garfield gets swapped with another identical cat in which country?  Answer »
  • All of the actors in Behind Enemy Lines are citizens of another country  Answer »
  • Before Luc Besson & co released "Taxi" in 1998 another European film with the same title came out in 1996. This film which covers fascism, rasism, young love and standing up for your beliefs is from which country?  Answer »
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