Mädchen in Uniform

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by Barbara Mennel

Type

Studies

Subject

One Film > Mädchen in Uniform (Sagan)

Keywords

Leontine Sagan, Carl Froelich, lesbianism

Publishing date

2024

Publisher

BFI Publishing

Collection

BFI Film Classics

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 112 pages
5 ¼ x 7 ½ inches (13.5 x 19 cm)

ISBN

978-1-83902-417-7

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Book Presentation:
Leontine Sagan's Mädchen in Uniform (1931) is a groundbreaking German film that showcases women's agency and desire behind and in front of the camera.

Adapted from Christa Winsloe's lesbian play, the story follows Manuela, an orphan in a boarding school for impoverished Prussian nobility. When she declares her love with her female teacher, the oppressive principal punishes her, leading to a desperate suicide attempt.

Barbara Mennel's compelling study firmly establishes Mädchen in the Weimar cinema canon. Mennel contextualises the film in 1920s theories of sexuality and the conventions of modernist cinema. She contrasts its international success to the extensive censorship battles that surrounded it. The film's unique transnational and fragmented history results from the exile of many of its makers during the Nazi regime. By attending to the many remakes throughout the 20th and 21st century, Mennel underscores the film's timeless impact that continues to resonate with contemporary audiences.

About the Author:
Barbara Mennel is a Professor of Film Studies and German Studies at the University of Florida, USA. She is the author of Su Friedrich (2023) and Women at Work in Twenty-First-Century European Cinema (2019).

See the publisher website: BFI Publishing

See Mädchen in Uniform (Sagan) (1931) on IMDB ...