The context of this film, Germany in 1931, is fascinating, especially as the headmistress of the all-girls boarding school sternly speaks of the need for toughness with the kids, emphasizes their Prussian roots, and says "through discipline and hunger, hunger and discipline, we shall be great again! Or not at all!" It's as if she's a stand-in for Hitler, who was beginning his rise to power, and it's interesting that the reactionary view to make a country "great again" is a recurring theme over history.
Opposing this view of harshness is a young teacher (Dorothea Wieck) who feels that the children must be treated kindly and trust their teachers to learn, an interesting anti-authoritarian position. The only thing is, it's an open secret that many girls have fallen in love with her, and yet she goes through with a ritual of kissing them goodnight, some on the forehead, others on the lips, and seems to enjoy the adoration. She gives one of them an undergarment, and swats another on the butt after a pep talk, smiling as she walks away, to the student's obvious pleasure. The film is asserting lesbian rights and I'm all for that, but the teacher's behavior seemed predatory, which was a detractor for me. The staff also serve the kids spiked punch which leads to a drunken meltdown which seemed a little odd.
The story reminded me of Colette's 'Claudine at School' (1900), and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a direct influence. As in that book, the students are sharp and sassy, make faces behind the teachers' backs, and in their blossoming sexuality, become attracted to some of them. The fast cuts in the editing and the clamor of the students evoke the chaos of the environment, and the film moves along well in its 98 minutes. It's an all-female cast which is interesting (perhaps a first), and as several kids appear Jewish, it's sobering to think of what became of them. Naturally the film was despised by both the Nazis and by conservative groups in America, but a success at the time, no doubt aided by the male hetero attraction to the titillating lesbian content. Worth seeing.
Opposing this view of harshness is a young teacher (Dorothea Wieck) who feels that the children must be treated kindly and trust their teachers to learn, an interesting anti-authoritarian position. The only thing is, it's an open secret that many girls have fallen in love with her, and yet she goes through with a ritual of kissing them goodnight, some on the forehead, others on the lips, and seems to enjoy the adoration. She gives one of them an undergarment, and swats another on the butt after a pep talk, smiling as she walks away, to the student's obvious pleasure. The film is asserting lesbian rights and I'm all for that, but the teacher's behavior seemed predatory, which was a detractor for me. The staff also serve the kids spiked punch which leads to a drunken meltdown which seemed a little odd.
The story reminded me of Colette's 'Claudine at School' (1900), and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a direct influence. As in that book, the students are sharp and sassy, make faces behind the teachers' backs, and in their blossoming sexuality, become attracted to some of them. The fast cuts in the editing and the clamor of the students evoke the chaos of the environment, and the film moves along well in its 98 minutes. It's an all-female cast which is interesting (perhaps a first), and as several kids appear Jewish, it's sobering to think of what became of them. Naturally the film was despised by both the Nazis and by conservative groups in America, but a success at the time, no doubt aided by the male hetero attraction to the titillating lesbian content. Worth seeing.