Tue

27/06

Cinema Lumiere - Sala Officinema/Mastroianni > 18:30

MÄDCHEN IN UNIFORM

Léontine Sagan
Introduced by

Paola Palma

Presentazione del libro La vagabonda dello schermo. Colette e il cinema (2015), di Paola Palma

Projection
Info

Tuesday 27/06/2017
18:30

Subtitle

Original version with subtitles

MÄDCHEN IN UNIFORM

Film Notes

The little German girls of Mädchen in Uniform bear only the slightest trace of femininity in their physiques and expressions. They are really still children, authentic children […] For my part, I believe that the direction of Mädchen in Uniform is an absolute masterpiece of tact and measure…
Colette nous parle de Jeunes filles en uniforme, “Pour vous”, 5 May 1932

In 1932, Colette wrote the French subtitles for the German film Mädchen in Uniform, adapted by the Austrian director Léontine Sagan from the play Ritter Nérestan (1930) by Christa Winsloe. Colette received an invitation from the French distributor and was undoubtedly tempted by the financial rewards, but accepted the commission only after viewing the film and judging it to be well made.
Colette confirms her interest in the world of the moving image. However, the similarities between the film and Claudine, her well-known series of novels set in a boarding school, did not go unnoticed. Both contained lesbian connotations and enjoyed long-lasting popularity.
The relationship between literature and cinema, in this instance, is not limited to the writing of the subtitles, but is more complex. As far as publicity is concerned, the transgressive air surrounding Colette and several of her earlier works was superimposed on the marketing of Mädchen in Uniform, which is one of the fundamental titles in the history of gay and lesbian cinema. The collaboration between Colette and the cinema thus accompanied the release of a film with lesbian connotations and the prominent displaying of the author’s name undoubtedly contributed to the film’s favourable reception in France.

Paola Palma

Cast and Credits

Sog.: dalla pièce Ritter Nérestan di Christa Winsloe. Scen.: Christa Winsloe, F.D. Andam. F.: Reimar Kuntze, Franz Weihmayr. Scgf.: Fritz Maurischat, Friedrich Winkler-Tannenberg. Mus.: Hansom Milde-Meißner. Int.: Hertha Thiele (Manuela von Meinhardis), Gertrud de Lalsky (zia di Manuela), Dorothea Wieck (signorina von Bernburg), Emilie Unda (madre superiora), Marte Hein (direttrice dell’istituto), Hedwig Schlichter (signorina von Kesten), Lene Berdolt (signorina von Gaerschner), Lisi Scheerbach (signorina Oeuillet), Ellen Schwanneke (Ilse). Prod.: Friedrich Pflughaupt per Deutsche Film-Gemeinschaft 35mm. D.: 86’. Bn

RÊVE DE NOËL

Cast and Credits

Int.: Liane de Pougy, Rose de Mai. Prod.: Gaumont . DCP. D.: 1’. Bn