DIARY OF A LOST GIRL "A Centennary Tribute to Louise Brooks" Series October 20, 2006

$9
live accompaniment
1929 b&w 116min Eng intertitles
Scr Rudolf Leonhardt
dir Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Louise Brooks, Fritz Rasp, Andrews Engelmann, Valeska Gert

A fierce attack on the evils of sexual repression & social hypocrisy, DIARY OF A LOST GIRL tells the tale of Thymiane Henning (Brooks), the innocent 16 y/o daughter of a pharmacist. Seduced & impregnated by her father’s clerk, she loses her baby & is incarcerated in a strict reform school. Subjected to military discipline, Thymiane escapes & wanders the streets in despair, until she encounters Erika, an old school friend who now works in a brothel. Pabst shockingly depicts the brothel as a place where Thymiane regains her self-esteem & develops into a confident, vivacious woman. Unlike any other actress in a similar situation, Brooks neither resorts to pathos nor suggests that there is anything immoral in the pleasure she derives from her new profession. As in Pandora, she lives for the moment, with radiant physical abandon. Once reestablished in society, Thymiane enjoys a life of wealth & privilege. She uses her status to help those who are suffering, just as she suffered. In contrast to the closing moments of PANDORA'S BOX, where Lulu comes to a tragic end, Thymiane stands defiantly against those who would try to persecute or crush her spirit.

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