Central to the film, set in a boarding school for the daughters of German officers prior to World War I, is the intense relationship between a young student and her female teacher. Interwoven emotional and institutional pressures result in near tragedy. The atmosphere of Prussian authoritarianism in the school is expertly evoked and the film has long been seen as an attack on German militarism and was suppressed by the Nazis. Causing an uproar on its release because of its frank handling of lesbianism, it was rediscovered in the seventies and has now taken its place as a classic of gay cinema. Director Leontine Sagan had been trained by Max Reinhardt and was already a prominent stage actress. Soon afterwards she came to England to direct a film for Alexander Korda. Cast includes Dorothea Wieck, Hertha Thiele, Emilia Unda and Ellen Schwannecke. In German with English subtitles.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
310637
Language
German
Audience classification
PG
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Foreign language films
Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → Persecution
Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Persecution
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Persecution
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Gay and lesbian studies
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Interpersonal relations in adolescence
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenage girls
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenagers - Sexual behavior
Feature films → Feature films - Germany
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Love
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Teenage girls
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)