Like 'Mädchen in Uniform' this strange mix of drama and comedy dealt with the tribulations of school teachers, and starred a top box-office draw in the lead (Ruth Leuwerik vs. Lilli Palmer), but otherwise they differed widely. Both the star and the film were sensitive, delicate and poignant.
Miss Leuwerik gives perhaps the most subtle performance of her career. She is wise, womanly, compassionate, consummately eloquent in scene after scene. The picture is beautifully photographed, catching the overall atmosphere of the rigid school system and the small changes made by Miss Leuwerik as a modern and open-minded teacher in an enchanting bland of colors and shading. Among other things, this cinematic treasure is a mature study of the refusal to surrender the heart's deepest hopes to conformist, muddled life-patterns.
A perfect bland of fine, sympathetic acting and able craftsmanship, this film has the strange knack of looking fresh and new with each viewing.
