Film Review
It was with her daring adaptation of two Colette novels,
Gigi (1949) and
Minne, l'ingénue libertine
(1950), that Jacqueline Audry made her name as a film director in
France. These she followed with a far more controversial piece,
Olivia, based on a
semi-autobiographical novel by Dorothy Bussy. Now considered a
landmark in the portrayal of lesbians in cinema, the film has not so
much as a whiff of sensationalism about it but instead offers a candid
and remarkably sensitive portrait of romantic love between
women. One of the few female directors to be working in
France in the 1950s, Audry was something of a trailblazer in her
depiction of women. A proto-feminist, she would not shy away from the more scandalous
realities of life and her subsequent film
Mitsou (1956) was widely condemned
for its overt scenes of extra-marital sex. As a film director,
her technique was rarely as adventurous as the subject of her films,
and by the time of the French New Wave she was considered
dépassé. What most distinguishes her as a filmmaker
is her commitment to go beyond traditional representations of women and
show them as they really are, creatures of inordinate complexity, not as men imagine them to be.
Olivia is not only Audry's
most groundbreaking film it is also, arguably, her most technically
accomplished. The laboured precision of her mise-en-scène
with its suffocating elegance adds to the stifling sense of confinement of the girls' school, which
is not so much an educational establishment as a psychological web in
which innocent ingénues are lured into one of two camps, those
of the two bitter rivals Mademoiselle Julie and Mademoiselle
Cara. These two pathetic examples of womanhood are brought to
life by two of French cinema's great divas, Edwige Feuillère and
Simone Simon, both impressing with a performance of exceptional depth
and complexity.
It doesn't take us long to work out just why these two women loathe one
another so fiercely, and there is an exquisite cruelty to the way in
which they perpetuate their feud, by seeing who is most successful at
stealing their pupils' hearts - a dangerous game that can only end in
tragedy. The central role of Olivia is played with conviction and
charm by the Swiss actress Marie-Claire Olivia, her first of only three
screen appearances. The other notable performer is Yvonne de
Bray, a star of the French stage who virtually steals the film with her
amusing portrayal of the plain-speaking cook Victoire. Today,
Olivia may appear coy and too
understated for its own good, but for the time at which it was made it
was a daring film for anyone to attempt, and in its delicate probing of
the female psyche it was many years ahead of its time.
© James Travers, Willems Henri 2014
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Film Synopsis
Victoire, the cook at a young women's institution, is charged with
meeting Olivia, a young English student, at the station. No
sooner has Olivia arrived than she is indoctrinated into the secrets of
the establishment by her fellow inmates. The management of the
school is shared by Mademoiselle Julie and Mademoiselle Cara, two very
different personalities. Julie divides her time between
her students and her fashionable soirées. Cara, by
contrast, spends most of her time in her room, complaining about her
health so that she can attract the attention of her students. One
day, Julie gives Olivia a luxurious room on the same floor as the
managers' living quarters. Cara then offers Olivia an even
greater privilege, the chance to look at the institution's photo
album. Soon the innocent Olivia will become the victim of the two
women's bitter rivalry...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.