Cast:
Edwige Feuillère (Mlle. Julie), Simone Simon (Mlle. Cara), Marie-Claire Olivia (Olivia Dealey), Yvonne de Bray (Victoire), Suzanne Dehelly (Mlle. Dubois), Marina de Berg (Mimi), Lesly Meynard (Frau Riesener), and Danièle Delorme (Une ancienne élève) Directed by Jacqueline Audry (#1650 - Gigi (1949))
Review:
Once again with Audry, we have the telling of a passionate yearning of a young girl, this time wrapped in tragedy. Admittedly, this is the kind of material I should have seen coming from her, because she liked to specialize in trying to make her mark in the confines of sophisticated melodramas that liked to see literary adaptations. But Olivia is an interesting work to find. The movie is adapted from the novel of the same name that had been written by Dorothy Bussy. Bussy wrote the short novel based on her experiences as a student at Les Ruches, a girls boarding school in Fontainebleau, France that was founded by Marie Souvestre (her most famous student was Eleanor Roosevelt), although the manuscript was kept from publication for many years due to a discouraging response she got from a close friend. At any rate, it was published in 1949 (originally written in French but later translated to English). The screenplay was done by Pierre Laroche, who wrote for a number of his wife's films, while Colette Audry was credited with an adaptation credit. It was not the first publication that dealt with teenage interest with teachers, far from it: Claudine at School was written with debatably autobiographical elements by Colette in 1900, and I'm sure one doesn't need too many reminders of Mädchen in Uniform (1931). The film was known in America as "The Pit of Loneliness"; a re-mastering of the film was done in 2019, complete with a re-release that thankfully can be seen in the way intended (certain trimming was done in censorship back then).
As you might expect, the film grips at one's attention at what is implied rather than actual events, one with a watchful eye in its camera angles more than anything. In a place filled with only women and girls, factions rise up among the devoted. Most of all, it is the story of someone trying to figure out exactly what one's love is when it relates to another woman. At 95 minutes, a movie with plenty of subtext to go around will work for those who accept what the film wants to show in its ambiguities (as opposed to simply calling a more subdued Madchen in Uniform). The film even opens with a quote from "Olivia" that says love has been the key matter of her life forever along with a wish for the Gods to have not let her profane such a memory. This self-realization is one we can all share because we all have had that moment of having a great memory in love that we wish to have never turn into nothingness in affections. Feuillère and Simon are the two distinct forces that hold a certain kind of spell over these people, and one of them spends most of their time writhing in bed. Feuillere essentially dominates the landscape when it comes to definable qualities of the film, one who towers in charisma that you can easily spot as important when trying to decipher the film in the things that are left unsaid. Marie-Claire Olivia is best known for this film because of how she only made a handful of appearances to go with her changing her name before release to have a last name of "Olivia". Her whirlwind of impulses and foibles work more or less to where you anticipate, which means a decent performance in enthusiasm and tension. The camera sweeps over the proceedings with worthy curiosity, one that suits the staging drama set out by Audry without becoming a maudlin mess. As a 19th century tale of awakenings and frustrations, it makes for a decent idea to spend one's time in the pit of yearning.
Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
Next Time: Outrage. Also...
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