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A masterwork of the German Silent Cinema whose reputation has only increased over time, Diary of a Lost Girl (Tagebuch einer Verlorenen) traces the journey of a young woman from the pit of despair to the moment of personal awakening. Directed with virtuoso flair by the great G. W. Pabst, Diary of a Lost Girl represents the final pairing of the filmmaker with screen icon Louise Brooks, mere months after their first collaboration in the now-legendary Pandoras Box (Die Büchse der Pandora). Brooks plays Thymiane Henning, an unprepossessing young woman seduced by an unscrupulous and mercenary character employed at her fathers pharmacy (played with gusto by Fritz Rasp, the degenerate villain of such Fritz Lang classics as Metropolis, Spione, and Frau im mond). After Thymiane gives birth to the child and subsequently rejects her familys expectations for marriage, the baby is stripped from her care, and Thymiane is relegated to a purgatorial reform school that functions less as an educational institution and more like a conduit for fulfilling the headmistress's sadistic libidinal fantasies. When Thymiane at last manages to escape and learn the fate of her child, she despondently enters a brothel where she nonetheless flourishes emotionally and sexually, and life begins anew.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A melodrama with magic,
By Idle in an Odeon (U.K.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Diary of a Lost Girl [1929] [DVD] [2007] (DVD)
This release of the second collaboration between actress Louise Brooks and master film maker GW Pabst allows modern viewers to understand why this film is still written about and discussed eighty years after production.
Pabst takes a simple story of a girl cast out from her family, due to an unwanted pregnancy, and turns it into a study of the hypocrisy of 'respectable' society. Moved from her home to a reformatory and then escaping into a life on the streets, Pabst shows a character looking for love and support who time and again is betrayed. Once again he is able to coax a remarkable performance out of Brooks and make good use of an eye catching supporting cast. Sometimes this veers towards the grotesque but this fits in well with the themes of the story. The occassional stiffness of the silent school of acting can be seen of course but, in fact, it now re-inforces a feeling of social rigidity and convention for the modern viewer. Against this is contrasted the light and natural character of Brooks. Hers is a very modern performance and it is her sensuality and beauty that adds the magic to this story, lifting the film onto a whole different level. The quality of the print is very good and allows the viewer to become immersed in the film without being distracted by flaws or failings in presentation. An interesting booklet is also included as part of the package. A good release of the first Pabst-Brooks film, 'Pandoras Box' is already available from Second Sight on Region 2 DVD. This release of '... Lost Girl' allows us to enjoy the other great work of cinema they created, in something like the condition that was originally intended. It is released by Eureka as part of the 'Masters of Cinema Collection' and shows the care and attention to detail that makes so many of their releases essential for anyone truly interested in cinema.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quite complex, well presented, you will be absorbed,
By
This review is from: Diary of Lost Girl [DVD] [2029] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
Black and white silent movie with English subtitles. Sound track relevant to the story. Original title "Tagebuch einer Verlorenen"
Thymiane (Louise Brooks) not aware of the relationship her father had with another of his housekeepers Elisabeth (Sybille Schmitz) and is confused as to why the housekeeper had to leave and intimately why the housekeeper committed suicide. The pharmacist Meinert (Fritz Rasp) downstairs is more than willing to show her what happens when one gets too friendly and doe so when Thymiane faints. This results in an offspring. The father pays the pharmacist's debt in exchange for making an honest woman of Thymiane. However she reneges and holds out for love; naturally this is unacceptable so she and her diary are sent off to a correctional institute for lost girls. Her offspring is handed over to a midwife. Will her father come to his senses or is he falling pray to his latest housekeeper Meta (Franziska Kinz?) Will she break out of the oppressive institute or just learn evil ways? Will her old friend Count Nicolas Osdorff (André Roanne) come to her rescue? Or will he have problems of his own when he is out cast? We find our selves sitting on the edge of our seats, kibitzing even if we saw the movie before. We are reminded that with a little more love no one on this earth has to be lost.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good film,
By W.L. (Ireland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Diary of a Lost Girl [1929] [DVD] [2007] (DVD)
This is a very good film, but I would recommend Pandora's Box even more! Still, you'll enjoy the bohemian nature of this film and I just love Louise Brooks naturalness. great stuff!
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