Movie: Another Country

Another Country is a 1984 British drama written by Julian Mitchell, adapted from his play of the same name.

It is loosely based on the life of the spy and double agent Guy Burgess, Guy Bennett in the film. It explores his homosexuality and exposure to Marxism, while examining the hypocrisy and snobbery of the English public school system (that is elite, private schools).

The setting is a public school, modelled on Eton and Winchester, in the 1930s. Guy Bennett (Rupert Everett) and Tommy Judd (Colin Firth) are pupils and, because they are both outsiders in their own ways, become friends (Bennett is gay while Judd is a Marxist).

There is quite an involved plot but that needn’t detain us. (You can read more here).

In the movie version Rupert Everett’s character falls foul of the prefects – the senior boys who control discipline at the school – and he is subjected to a severe caning. Everett was in his early twenties when the film was made.

The movie is available on DVD and streaming services.

Picture and video credits: Goldcrest Films International

 

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