''Olivia'' (also known as ''The Pit of Loneliness'') is a 1951 French film directed by Jacqueline Audry, and based on the 1950 semi-

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. Bec ...

of the same name by

Dorothy Bussy Dorothy Bussy ( Strachey; 24 July 1865 – 1 May 1960) was an English novelist and translator, close to the Bloomsbury Group. Family background and childhood Dorothy Bussy was a member of the Strachey family, one of ten children of Jane St ...

. It has been called a "landmark of lesbian representation".

Plot

In the late 19th century, Olivia, an English teenager, arrives at a finishing school in France. Olivia finds comfort in the school which differs greatly from her former restrictive English boarding school and where the students and faculty are welcoming. The majority of the pupils in the school are divided into two camps: those that are devoted to the headmistress, Mlle Julie, and those who follow Mlle Cara, an emotionally manipulative invalid who is obsessed with Mlle Julie. Olivia becomes an immediate favourite of Mademoiselle Cara, who shows her a photograph album full of pictures of the history of the school. When Olivia admires a girl in the pictures, Laura, Mlle Cara becomes angry and withdrawn; another pupil later explains that before she left, Laura was Mlle Julie's favourite pupil. Later Olivia hears Mlle Julie reading ''

Andromaque ''Andromaque'' is a tragedy in five acts by the French playwright Jean Racine written in alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre in the private chambers of the Queen, Marie Thérès ...

'' and begins to fall in love with her. Mlle Julie takes Olivia to Paris on a day trip and Olivia becomes more and more obsessed with her. Shortly after, Laura arrives and she and Olivia quickly become friends. Olivia asks her if she is in love with Mlle Julie and Laura replies that she loves her but is not in love with her. Later, Laura hears an argument where Mlle Cara accuses Mlle Julie of not loving her back, and being neglectful of her. Mlle Cara expresses her jealousy towards both Olivia and Laura, saying that both of them love Mlle Julie. That night, before going to bed Mlle Julie passes Olivia's room where she kisses her on the eyes while telling her to go to sleep. Olivia responds by passionately kissing her hands which Mlle Julie tries to play it off as her being overly affectionate. Around Christmas time Laura leaves the school again, confessing to Olivia that she can't bear Mlle Cara's jealousy and warning Olivia to watch out. Directly after she leaves, however, Olivia goes to Mlle Julie and tells her she loves her. At the Christmas ball, Mlle Julie kisses another pupil on the neck in front of Olivia and later promises to join Olivia in her room later that night and give her bonbons. However Mlle Julie does not come to visit Olivia. Olivia is deeply disappointed and cries herself to sleep in front of the fire in Mlle Julie's room, where she is later discovered by Mlle Cara. Mlle Cara is enraged at finding her and physically attacks her, telling her she's a disappointment. When Mlle Julie enters the room to see them fighting Mlle Cara accuses her of going into the girls' rooms at night. After their fight Mlle Julie announces that she will be leaving the school, leaving it in the care of Mlle Cara. The night before she is to leave Mlle Julie enters Olivia's room, confessing that she loves her. She leaves the room, only to return shortly after screaming for Olivia to call for help because Mlle Cara had died from an overdose of

chloral Chloral, also known as trichloroacetaldehyde or trichloroethanal, is the organic compound with the formula Cl3CCHO. This aldehyde is a colourless oily liquid that is soluble in a wide range of solvents. It reacts with water to form chloral hydrate ...

. Mlle Julie is heartbroken over her death calling Mlle Cara the only person she ever really loved. In the end, we see Olivia leaving the school on her carriage, indicating that maybe Mlle Julie kept her word about leaving the school too.

Cast

Edwige Feuillère Edwige Feuillère (born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti; October 29, 1907 – November 13, 1998) was a French stage and film actress. Biography She was born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti to an Italian architect father and an Alsace-born mo ...

as Mlle. Julie *

Simone Simon Simone Thérèse Fernande Simon (23 April 1910 or 1911 – 22 February 2005) was a French film actress who began her film career in 1931. Early life Born in Marseille, France, she was the daughter of Henri Louis Firmin Clair Simon, a French J ...

as Mlle. Cara * Marie-Claire Olivia as Olivia Dealey *

Yvonne de Bray Yvonne de Bray (12 May 1889 – 1 February 1954) was a French stage and film actress. She was born Yvonne Laurence Blanche de Bray in Paris and died there. In 1939, she and her partner Violette Morris invited Jean Cocteau to stay with them a ...

as Victoire * Suzanne Dehelly as Mlle. Dubois *

Marina de Berg A marina (from Spanish language, Spanish , Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a Dock (maritime), dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina dif ...

as Mimi * Lesly Meynard as Frau Riesener * Danièle Delorme as Une ancienne élève *

Rina Rhéty Rina or RINA may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Rina (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kento Rina, Indian politician * Mahfuza Rahman Rina, Bangladeshi politician * Tongam Rina (born 1979), Indian j ...

as Signorina * Tania Soucault as Georgie * Elly Norden as Laura *

Nadine Olivier Nadine may refer to: People * Nadine (given name) * Nadine, Countess of Shrewsbury (1913–2003), English opera soprano Film and TV * ''Nadine'' (1987 film), a 1987 film with Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger * , a 2007 Dutch film with Monic Hendri ...

as Cécile

Reception

For her part as Mlle. Julie, Edwige Feuillère was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Foreign Actress in 1952.

References

External links

* * {{Amg movie, 145256, Olivia
''Olivia''
at

Ciné-Ressources ''Ciné-Ressources'' is a union catalogue of the libraries and archives of French cinema, created on 22 August 2007 and managed by the Cinémathèque française. Initiated by the in collaboration with the , it provides access to more than 200, ...

''Olivia''
at UniFrance
''Olivia''
at FrenchFilms.org 1951 films 1950s historical drama films 1950s LGBT-related films Films set in boarding schools Films about educators Films based on French novels Films set in the 1880s Films set in the 19th century French historical drama films 1950s French-language films French LGBT-related films Lesbian-related films Films directed by Jacqueline Audry 1951 drama films French black-and-white films Films set in France 1950s French films