Mädchen in Uniform (1958) review

A new student in a strict boarding school, Manuela (Romy Schneider), falls in love with her literature teacher Ms. von Bernburg (Lilli Palmer) - the feelings are reciprocated (Von Bernburg seems visibly shaken by the erotic encounters between the two) but the nature of the relationship is scandalous nonetheless. Teachers having sexual affairs with students is certainly nothing new in American news and a troubling issue at that (I've always been bothered by the idea of power and control mechanisms being abused on behalf of the teacher), but director Von Radványi and his screenwriters (working from Christa Winsloe's play) are respectful to the source material and non-judgmental in their presentation. Homosexuality, it appears, is a revolt against oppressive patriarchal demands - the girls in the boarding school, they're consistently reminded, are to be groomed to be 'suitable' wives for soldiers: a truly bleak and restrictive future, if you ask me.