Olivia
Director: Jacqueline Audry
Writer: Colette Audry, Pierre Laroche
Based on: Dorothy Bussy’s novel
Cast: Edwige Feuillère, Simone Simon, Marie-Claire Olivia, Yvonne de Bray, Suzanne Dehelly, Lesly Meynard, Elly Claus, Rina Rhéty
Seen on: 18./19.3.2025

Plot:
English Olivia (Marie-Claire Olivia) comes to France for Boarding School. She feels very welcome at the school, especially when she quickly becomes a favorite of the headmaster Mademoiselle Julie (Edwige Feuillère). She realizes, though, that the school is firmly divided between Julie and Mademoiselle Cara (Simone Simon), another teacher who seems permanently ill. There is rivalry between Julie and Cara regarding the students‘ affections, but even more so, there is jealousy as Cara watches Julie’s relationships with the students closely.

Olivia is a classic of queer filmmaking, and a wonderful one at that. With a great cast and a non-judgmental gaze, it is still a powerful movie.

Olivia is, of course, reminiscent of Mädchen in Uniform, both in its setting and in its status as a cult classic, and it deserves that honor just as much. While Olivia was certainly inspired by Mädchen in Uniform, but also simply by the novel it is based on (and that just brought author Dorothy Bussy to my attention, thank you) that is in turn somewhat autobiographical (probably), Olivia stands on its own two feet and is not just a copy.

Two things struck me most about Olivia. One is how it captures the irresistable charm of Julie. If I had been a student at her school, I certainly would have fallen in love with her just as much as Olivia does. Even the fact that Julie’s way of dealing with her students, encouraging their adoration, even engaging in it to some degree, makes her a catastrophe as a teacher, headmaster and responsible adult only slightly mars her hotness.

The second thing is just how many ways of women loving each other exist in the film, both romantically and not. Olivia’s decidedly romantic crush on Julie. Julie and Cara’s bitter rivalry that comes from a place of hurt love more than anything else and definitely reads like a bad break-up. Olivia’s friendship with Laura (Elly Claus) and Signorina (Rina Rhéty). The cook’s (Yvonne de Bray) way of always feeding the ever hungry Hortense (Suzanne Dehelly), which brings a welcome touch of humor to the film. Pretty much every relationship in this film boils down to love and care, even when it doesn’t look that way (with the exception, maybe, of Olivia and Cara). It is beautiful.

I really enjoyed watching the film, and even if I would have liked the ending to be a little less dramatic, and Julie maybe a little less cavalier with the girls’ feelings, it is a film I can see myself re-watching and continuing to appreciate.

Summarizing: watch it.