Director: Leontine Sagan
Year: 1931
Run-time: 1 hr 38 min
Source: Youtube (there is a version in multiple parts with English subs, but it requires searching)
Notable For: This is a film with a complicated legacy. On the one hand, it could be considered the first popular internationally known film to prominently feature a female romantic relationship. In Weimar Germany, this was not the taboo subject that you might imagine. Characters in Morocco and Pandora's Box were more or less explicit in their desires, and some contemporary critics of Madchen in Uniform thought that it could have gone further in that direction, requesting additional kissing scenes. On the other hand, it's not fair to call it a film about lesbianism, since this is a story about a young orphan and her largely unreciprocated attraction to her caring governess. The intended message here is about the cruelties of the Prussian boarding school system.
Verdict: It's certainly a fascinating film, but my appreciation for it is complicated by the fact that I was formerly a boarding school teacher myself, and as such it's hard for me to appreciate the film's position that this headmistress is a hero to her students. Certainly, it chills me to think that there probably were (and are) schools that starves their students and adhere to a philosophy of pure austerity, but like the headmistress, I too think that this woman should have set much greater boundaries. But in all seriousness, the performances are excellent. If nothing else, it's beyond refreshing to find a 1931 film with an entirely female cast and director, that invests itself so completely in imagining feelings and relationships that feel true and honest. This is a nearly impossible film to see nowadays, and despite its legacy it's not an easy film to champion, but my goodness, it is definitely worth seeing.
Year: 1931
Run-time: 1 hr 38 min
Source: Youtube (there is a version in multiple parts with English subs, but it requires searching)
Notable For: This is a film with a complicated legacy. On the one hand, it could be considered the first popular internationally known film to prominently feature a female romantic relationship. In Weimar Germany, this was not the taboo subject that you might imagine. Characters in Morocco and Pandora's Box were more or less explicit in their desires, and some contemporary critics of Madchen in Uniform thought that it could have gone further in that direction, requesting additional kissing scenes. On the other hand, it's not fair to call it a film about lesbianism, since this is a story about a young orphan and her largely unreciprocated attraction to her caring governess. The intended message here is about the cruelties of the Prussian boarding school system.
Verdict: It's certainly a fascinating film, but my appreciation for it is complicated by the fact that I was formerly a boarding school teacher myself, and as such it's hard for me to appreciate the film's position that this headmistress is a hero to her students. Certainly, it chills me to think that there probably were (and are) schools that starves their students and adhere to a philosophy of pure austerity, but like the headmistress, I too think that this woman should have set much greater boundaries. But in all seriousness, the performances are excellent. If nothing else, it's beyond refreshing to find a 1931 film with an entirely female cast and director, that invests itself so completely in imagining feelings and relationships that feel true and honest. This is a nearly impossible film to see nowadays, and despite its legacy it's not an easy film to champion, but my goodness, it is definitely worth seeing.
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