AniInterview
Sorry, this movie sucks
VividSimon
Simply Perfect
Listonixio
Fresh and Exciting
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"Mädchen in Uniform" or "Girls in Uniform" is a German film from 85 years ago that is in black-and-white and runs for slightly over 80 minutes. The main character here is a girl with lesbian tendencies and it was obviously the filmmakers' intention that we like here, so you can imagine how the Nazis, who came into power 2 years later, saw this film. It was banned and tried to eradicate from existence. Luckily there were not successful and copies of it still exist today. Another reason why they hated it was certainly the anti-authoritarian plot here with all the actresses playing students and staff at an all-girls school. And the main antagonist was the old Oberin, the head of the institute, with her strict rules and regulations. Not only one of the film's director is female (Leontine Sagan), but the entire cast here is. No males included.I thought it took a while till the film really became good, but the longer it goes, the better it becomes. I would not call it a mus-see, but it certainly has its moments and a pretty dramatic final sequence too. the last show with the head mistress leaving is also quite good. Today, none of the actresses in here are really famous, but the film still is, probably more famous than the remake starring Romy Schneider from the 1950s. I think both films are good and I recommend checking them out. Thumbs up for "Mädchen in Uniform".
ctjones-1
Beautifully filmed. By turns touching, funny, and painfully sad.It is definitely a classic. A wonderful story for the gay/lesbian audience, and anti-authoritarian to anyone else who's interested. Wonderful artistic depiction of the characters.Besides, Dorothea Wieck really is hot.
davorka46
Girls in Uniform is a feminist classic.This film is one of the hidden themes of early German cinema. For a movie that was made in 1931 the structure was very good. Light is used to indicate the repression of the girls. The girls were in a world full of darkness by the authorities of the boarding school. The interesting thing was that the main focus was on the relationship between Manuela and her teacher, there were other relationships too but they ware not the main focus. My feeling is that none of those girls were happy in that school but they learned to handle the situation and simply to live with it.
mmpowers
My initial reaction to this film was that it served no purpose. It seemed, to me at least, to be about a German boarding school for girls who mostly had lesbian infatuations with their teacher and other students. Although this is what it is mainly about, its true nature is to illustrate the bonds and relationships created between friends, and also to show the importance of a maternal figure in a girl's life. When Manuela first arrives at the school, she has a gap in her life that would usually be filled by a mother figure. Because her mother died, her father did not know how to take care of her, and her aunt did not give her the love she needed, she searches for someone who can give her what she has been lacking for so long. Fraulein von Bernburg is the teacher who can do this. She is strict with the students, yet does not punish them. She treats Manuela in a way she does no other. If this love began as something similar to the type a family would share, it slowly transitions to something more than that. It creates a bond between them that is not permitted in the school, but in the end it allows both Manuela and Fraulein von Bernburg to be set free from the oppression of the school. A criticism I have, though, is the ending. Once the finale occurs, it just ends. No closure is brought to these characters. Although it was a touching story line, for the most part, this movie was not very entertaining.
