mkql
This film is amazingly well done. Given the time period in which it was made, the way it tackles the issue of homosexuality is quite revolutionary. The film is ambiguous when it needs to be and direct when the audience really needs to make connections. Hertha Thiele plays her role convincingly. The use of symbolism, as well as other allusions to psychoanalytic thought are both hilarious and effective. Unfortunately, the subtitles are horribly written. I am surprised that a German film institution has not redone them, or re-released this classic film in better quality. I thought the Goethe institute was all about things like this.
badmaash9911
Madchen in Uniform was a surprisingly bold movie for its time. Set in Germany, before the Nazis came into power, Madchen in Uniform addresses the issue of lesbianism in an all girls boarding, and, in a broader sense, society. Although by no means as graphic and as explicit as films produced today, Madchen in Uniform was still a candid portrayal of homosexuality for its time. Aside from the actual topic though, I personally didn't feel that there was much to the movie. The movie lacked any real plot. It mainly revolved around a young girl, who, because of being homesick, found both security and love in a teacher. It is true that the movie was a source of much controversy, but as far as I'm concerned, this is the entire movie was able to accomplish.
kkelly12
The experience of watching Madchen in Uniform left me feeling that that I had missed part of the film's message because of both the subtitles and the historical context. On the surface the movie seemed to simply be about a girl who after being forced to go to boarding school falls in love with her teacher and doesn't know how to handle herself. What is lost in the translation to English though are many of the messages that were quite revolutionary for the time and place that the movie was made. The film actually reflects the pre-Nazi German society, especially the places of both women and homosexuality. This was hard to follow in the subtitles which, showing the movie's age, were often missing or very hard to read. I found the movie rather unentertaining to watch; however, I feel that if I had known more about the time period and place that it was coming from before I viewed it then it might have had greater meaning to me. If the language and cultural barrier can be crossed, I feel the Madchen in Uniform achieves its point of addressing the social and political issues of Germany when it is observed with the correct historical context and openness in mind.
MB002k
I thought this movie was a very interesting way of looking at how girls were treated during the 1930's in Germany. The director obviously wanted to show that the authorities and leaders wanted women to be no nonsense, and just for show. The girls in this movie wanted to rebel in a way, they did not want to just be mothers, they wanted to learn, to explore, and to have a good time. I'm not sure why they made the girls all in love with the teacher. I think of the idea of lesbianism as more of a modern idea, not that they didn't have lesbians at that time, but that it was not talked about. I'm sure that is why the original was banned and cut up to keep this idea. The only thing that really bothered me about this film was that the subtitles were inconsistent. There would be loads of dialogue, and then like a word of subtitle. Often the white writing subtitles were blocked by a white background on screen or was washed out. Even without knowing what they were saying, I still got the gist of the movie.
AD
