Are you old enough to remember the ABC After School Specials? During the ’70s and ’80s, they’d appear every month of so at 4 p.m. They’d focus on the various problems that were happening to teenagers at the time. There was an episode of being a teenage drunk, accepting punk music or dealing with a divorced dad living in a downtown hotel. The hour-long specials tried not to be too preachy, but conversation starters. They also attempted to let kids know who are dealing with such traumas that they weren’t the only ones out there. You Are Not Alone could be considered a rather intense After School Special from Denmark in 1978. The film deals with a group of trouble teens who are experiencing the rise of their libidos while at a last chance boarding school.
Continuation School in Denmark appears to be set up for students ages 16 to 18 who are at risk of flunking out or getting expelled from a regular high school. The school at the heart of the film appears to be a private Christian school run by Headmaster Forstander (The Olsen Gang’s Last Trick‘s Ove Sprogøe). He’s obsessed at building a better gymnasium for the boarding school instead of a girl’s dorm so they can offer a co-ed. What he doesn’t notice is that his younger son Kim (Peter Bjerg) has been hanging with the schoolboys and learning quite a bit of carnal education. Most of the boys have become obsessed with hooking up with the girls. They’re doing their best to get booze for an upcoming picnic day with the girls from a nearby school. Kim has struck up a friendship with Bo (Anders Agensø). The two get extra friendly especially when they get drunk at the picnic. But this isn’t merely about Kim and Bo. Things gets nasty when one of the other students in an act of defiance covers the bathroom walls with centerfolds. Forstander won’t stand for it. After he expels the kid, his classmates rebel. Is school going to be dismissed for everyone?
You Are Not Alone is interesting because the classmates don’t have an issue with Kim and Bo’s relationship. This isn’t about repression or anyone coming after them. There’s horse play and a few instances of bullying, but nothing because they perceive one of the students likes boys. Perhaps because of the nature of the boarding school, Bo and Kim aren’t the only ones exploring with their classmates. While the Kim’s dad is oblivious to his son, he’s a Holy Roller when it comes to how he views all the students in the dorm. He somehow thinks that adult magazines will ruin their virgin eyes. We get the idea that most of students are already pleasing their libidos whether by themselves or with others. One kid gets lucky with a lady working in the kitchen. If this was an ABC After School Special it would probably be called Hormone Homeroom. You Are Not Alone gives us a school where the only stigma is holding back on your urges.
The Video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The restoration brings out the details of life in Sweden in 1978. You even see the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon poster that used to come with the album. The Audio is DTS-HS MA 2.0 in Swedish. The levels are fine for when the class is forced to sing before breakfast. The movie is subtitled in English and Spanish.
Trailer (1:38) is a freshly cut trailer that focuses on the school issues.
Altered Innocence presents You Are Not Alone. Directed by Lasse Nelsen and Ernest Johansen. Screenplay by Lasse Nelsen and Bent Petersen. Starring Anders Agensø, Peter Bjerg, Ove Sprogøe, Elin Reimer, Jan Jørgensen and Jørn Faurschou. Running Time: 94 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: September 10, 2024.
