La Maternelle (film)
7.8 /10 1 Votes
Adapted from La Maternelle Duration Country France | 7.6/10 IMDb Genre Drama Language French | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cast Madeleine Renaud (Rose), Alice Tissot (Superintendent), Paulette Élambert (Marie Coeuret), Sylvette Fillacier (Mme. Coeuret), Mady Berry (Mme. Paulin), Henri Debain (Dr. Libois)Director Jean Benoit-Levy
Marie Epstein Writer Jean Benoit-Levy , Marie Epstein , Leon Frapie Release date France:
16 September 1933 (Paris)
Germany:
12 October 1933
Austria:
25 March 1934 (Wien)
Finland:
14 October 1934
United States:
14 October 1935 (New York City, New York) - Nationwide:
15 November 1935 Directors Marie Epstein, Jean Benoit-Levy Similar movies Madeleine Renaud movies, Movies about school, Movies about marriage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Educated young Rose (Madeleine Renaud) finds herself in a tough position when her father files for bankruptcy. She takes a job as a maid at a center for children, most of whom come from tragic circumstances. Sensitive and kind, Rose is quickly a favorite, especially with young Marie (Paulette Elambert), whose prostitute mother has all but abandoned her. Discovering Rose is overqualified, the school head insists she give up her job, to the dismay of Dr. Libois (Henri Debain) and the children.
Contents
La Maternelle (International title: Children of Montmartre) is a 1933 French film directed and written by Jean Benoit-Levy and Marie Epstein. It was adapted from Leon Frapies Prix Goncourt winning novel La Maternelle (1904). In 1935, it was ranked as the 6th best foreign film by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, and has received an 8.4 ranking (out of 10) by 27 reviewers at the Internet Movie Database. It has also been noted as one of the earliest French films to use speech.
When her father files bankruptcy and then dies, Rose's fiancé jilts her; she takes a job as a maid in a Montmartre kindergarten with 150 poor children. Rose gives each child loving attention, and soon she's their favorite. An especially needy child is Marie, a prostitute's daughter. Rose and she bond, and Marie is jealous of all attentions paid Rose, especially those of Dr. Libois, the school's physician. When Rose inadvertently guides the children through the educational experiment of a visiting scholar, and then discloses she has a college degree and is working beneath her station, the principal wants to fire her. Is there any way she can stay? And what will happen to Marie?
Plot summary
Rose, a girl from a well off family faces a series of tragic events that leaves her penniless and without a home. She is hired as an attendant at a day-care center in Paris with 150 poor children. She finds herself tenderly caring for them and soon they become very fond of her. One young girl named Marie, who is the abandoned daughter of a prostitute, becomes so attached to Rose that she becomes jealous when anyone else steals Roses attention. Marie even tries to kill herself when she learns of Roses plans to marry Dr. Libois, the schools physician. Despite this, La Maternelle ultimately finds its way to a happy ending.
Cast
Critical reviews
In 1935, The New York Times called it "a film of extraordinary insight, tenderness and tragic beauty." And claimed that "Mr. Benoit-Levy presents a heart-breaking cross-section of this tatterdemalion kindergarten in such minor portraits as the little boy who has never learned how to smile."
Also known as
Connection to Feminism & French Cinema Studies
The author of the 1996 book To Desire Differently: Feminism & the French Cinema, Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, recently commented "I need to reaffirm that although my book deals with female authorship, the exquisite 1933 film LA MATERNELLE was made by two directors, Jean Benoit-Levy and Marie Epstein. For purposes of my book, I chose to emphasize Epsteins participation in the 11 feature films she made with Benoit-Levy. However, further research has indicated that in fact, Epstein co-directed some films and assisted on others. In this light, I wish to correct the mistaken impression that this is Maries film alone. While I appreciate the fact that she has gotten much needed attention, I am emphatic about reinstating Jean Benoit-Levy as the primary director of LA MATERNELLE."
References
La Maternelle (film) WikipediaLa Maternelle (film) IMDb La Maternelle (film) themoviedb.org