Christopher and His Kind (film)

Christopher and His Kind
Region 2 DVD cover
Directed by	Geoffrey Sax
Produced by	Celia Duval
Written by	Kevin Elyot
Based on	Christopher and His Kind by Christopher Isherwood
Starring	Matt Smith
Music by	Dominik Scherrer
Cinematography	Kieran McGuigan
Edited by	Paul Knight
Release date	20 February 2011: Germany and France (Arte) 19 March 2011: UK (BBC Two and BBC HD)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Christopher and His Kind is a 2011 BBC television film. It tells the story of Christopher Isherwood's life in Berlin in the early 1930s. The film, adapted by Kevin Elyot from Isherwood's autobiography Christopher and His Kind, was produced by Mammoth Screen and directed by Geoffrey Sax. Isherwood is played by Matt Smith, whilst the cast also includes Toby Jones, Douglas Booth, Imogen Poots and Iddo Goldberg.

In Los Angeles in 1976, Christopher Isherwood begins writing his memoir. The film flashes back to 1931 as Christopher prepares to leave England for Germany, against the wishes of his mother Kathleen. On the train he meets Gerald Hamilton, an English ne'er-do-well of Irish descent, who suggests that Christopher take a room at the boarding house where he lives. Upon his arrival in Berlin, Christopher meets his friend Wystan Auden, who takes him to the Cosy Corner, a seedy gay club populated by hustlers.

Christopher takes up residence at Gerald's boarding house under landlady Fräulein Thurau. There he becomes fast friends with Jean Ross, an aspiring actress who sings at an underground club. He also begins a tumultuous affair with Caspar, one of the rentboys from the Cosy Corner. Their relationship continues until Caspar abruptly disappears. Christopher does not see him until many months later and is horrified to see that he has joined the National Socialists.