Manuela is a "half-orphan" dropped off at a girls' school by an aunt who wants her to behave -- "I don't want you to spoil my plans for your future," she says.
Having lost her mother, Manuela (Hertha Thiele) is deeply vulnerable, and becomes enamored of a teacher, Fraulein von Benburg (Dorothea Wieck), who isn't afraid of showing some feeling, in contrast with the authoritarian headmistress at the school, who says, "Hunger and discipline -- this will make us great again."
Frl. von Benburg kisses each of the girls goodnight, encouraging Manuela's infatuation by placing her kiss on the girl's lips. She also apparently gave Manuela an undergarment to be worn while thinking of her, which Manuela delightedly reveals to her peers on a rare night of levity and spiked punch.
The admission creates a scandal, and a cruel punishment for Manuela that leaves her suicidal. Her peers' fortuitous rescue prompts all to engage in some soul-searching.
The radiant Ms. Thiele is wonderful here. She exquisitely captures the manic delight of young love. Ms. Wieck is also superb as the enigmatic object of her desires.
The striped uniforms of this film's title are disturbingly similar to concentration-camp attire, and it's troubling to think of how this production preceded Europe's lurch toward disaster.
The interactions among characters in this film are so honest, and intense, that I feel certain this film must have influenced German wunderkind director Werner Fassbinder. I can see him watching it over and over.
Having lost her mother, Manuela (Hertha Thiele) is deeply vulnerable, and becomes enamored of a teacher, Fraulein von Benburg (Dorothea Wieck), who isn't afraid of showing some feeling, in contrast with the authoritarian headmistress at the school, who says, "Hunger and discipline -- this will make us great again."
Frl. von Benburg kisses each of the girls goodnight, encouraging Manuela's infatuation by placing her kiss on the girl's lips. She also apparently gave Manuela an undergarment to be worn while thinking of her, which Manuela delightedly reveals to her peers on a rare night of levity and spiked punch.
The admission creates a scandal, and a cruel punishment for Manuela that leaves her suicidal. Her peers' fortuitous rescue prompts all to engage in some soul-searching.
The radiant Ms. Thiele is wonderful here. She exquisitely captures the manic delight of young love. Ms. Wieck is also superb as the enigmatic object of her desires.
The striped uniforms of this film's title are disturbingly similar to concentration-camp attire, and it's troubling to think of how this production preceded Europe's lurch toward disaster.
The interactions among characters in this film are so honest, and intense, that I feel certain this film must have influenced German wunderkind director Werner Fassbinder. I can see him watching it over and over.