Mädchen in Uniform (1931)

I had a strong feeling that Goebbels was no fan of Mädchen in Uniform, directed by Leontine Sagan & Carl Froelich. But then it turns out that Goebbels is rumoured to have liked the film "as film". Taking account of what kind of movie we are talking about here, this is very, very strange.
The film, the story of which takes place in a boarding school for girls, oozes social revolution. Manuela has just been sent to the school. Her mother is dead and her father is some kind of military officer. Manuela and the other girls have difficulties in conforming with the expected level of Prussian morality. One reason is the gorgeous von Bernburg, whom all the girls adore. One night, there is a festivity. A group of girls perform a play by Schiller. Afterwards, there is punsch. Manuela shocks the teachers (and thrills the students) with a drunken speech in which she openly professes her love for Bernburg. A series of tragic events irrevocably follow... This is a very good film. Not only is it inventive in how it uses camera movement (which was a fairly new invention) and close-ups, it has also a strong message. Mädchen in Uniorm doesn't hide its agenda: to criticize repressive norms and militaristic ideals. What is even more mind-boggling: this film in no way treats desire among women as wrong or perverse. The point seems rather to be to show what kind of society is created when desire is squashed. The lesbian plot that was very prominent in the stage play version is said to have been toned down a bit in the film. But regardless of this fact, we are not talking about homoerotic subtext here at all. It's all over these images.
As a story about repressive morality & coming-of-age, this is a wonderful film, even a feminist one. The role assigned to the girls by the majority of teachers in the school is very clear: "Soldatentöchter, und wenn Gott will, wieder Soldatenmütter." - This line is uttrered by the school's headmistress, who embodies a repressive system. It's also one of those anti-authoritarian films that have aged well, perhaps because there are many scenes that are very complex in dealing with what it means to act for and against an authoritarian system (in what ways does the Bernburg character change throughout the film?).
The acting - by an all-female cast - is very nice and energetic - and the film has almost no sentimental additions such as sugary music. It's a very simple, matter-of-fact film. 
I suppose this kind of movie was impossible in Germany two years later. Reading about the film, I am surprised to learn that it was commercially successful and that it was distributed in several countries.