{"id":92810,"date":"2023-10-29T00:30:09","date_gmt":"2023-10-29T07:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=92810"},"modified":"2023-10-29T00:30:09","modified_gmt":"2023-10-29T07:30:09","slug":"young-torless-1966","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=92810","title":{"rendered":"Young T\u00f6rless (1966)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You agree to everything. You are a coward!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Poster-216x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"216\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-92811\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Poster-216x300.png 216w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Poster-92x128.png 92w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Poster-195x270.png 195w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Poster.png 679w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 216px) 100vw, 216px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAt an early 20th century boarding school in Austria, new arrival Thomas T\u00f6rless (Mathieu Carri\u00e8re) is distressed to find two classmates &#8212; Reiting (Fred Dietz) and Beineberg (Bernd Tischer) &#8212; bullying a fellow student named Basini (Marian Seidowsky), who has been caught stealing.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Barbara Steele Films<\/li>\n<li>Boarding School<\/li>\n<li>Bullies<\/li>\n<li>Coming of Age<\/li>\n<li>German Films<\/li>\n<li>Teenagers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary notes that this &#8220;compelling adaptation of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Confusions_of_Young_T%C3%B6rless\">Robert Musil&#8217;s 1906 novel<\/a>, written and directed by [27-year-old] Volker Schl\u00f6ndorff,&#8221; &#8220;presents military academies as breeding grounds for fascists, and draws parallels between what happens in the school and the rise of Nazism in Germany in the early 1930s, [including] victimization of Jews.&#8221; He adds that even &#8220;more interestingly, it&#8217;s about how similar people can, through circumstances, go in opposite directions,&#8221; with one becoming &#8220;an oppressor and the other an outcast victim.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying-1024x617.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92817\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying-1024x617.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying-448x270.png 448w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying.png 1194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ironically, while Carri\u00e8re&#8217;s Thomas detests the way Beineberg and Reiting &#8220;intellectualize that what they&#8217;re doing to Basini is an experiment in human nature (to see how much he will take),&#8221; Thomas himself could be seen as the ultimate passive intellectualizer, given his lack of willingness to step in and help Basini; which is worse? <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-Watching.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-Watching-1024x617.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92827\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-Watching-1024x617.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-Watching-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-Watching-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-Watching-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-Watching-448x270.png 448w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-Watching.png 1194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Thomas&#8217;s frustration with Basini&#8217;s &#8220;masochistic [sic] acceptance of his degradation and victimization&#8221; also seems off-base, since Basini is simply and pragmatically trying to survive. Shedding additional light on this topic, film scholar Timothy Corrigan &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.criterion.com\/current\/posts\/669-young-torless\">in an essay for Criterion<\/a> on the film&#8217;s historical relevance &#8212; writes: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Although critics of the film sometimes misread T\u00f6rless\u2019s passive and intellectual response to brutality as the message of the film, there is too much dark historical irony in this drama to be denied. Seen from Schl\u00f6ndorff\u2019s perspective in postwar Germany, this prewar tale of the Austrian upper class becomes a chilling anticipation of a culture stifled by authoritarian regimes and attitudes and secreted in the violent obsessions and weaknesses of individuals supporting those regimes.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying2-1024x617.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying2-1024x617.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying2-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying2-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying2-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying2-448x270.png 448w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Bullying2.png 1194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He continues: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Like other films with similar boarding-school plots, such as Jean Vigo\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9023\"><em>Z\u00e9ro de Conduite<\/em> (1933)<\/a> and Lindsay Anderson\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=78562\"><em>If&#8230;.<\/em> (1968)<\/a>, <em>Young T\u00f6rless<\/em> investigates the social rituals that shape and repress adolescents in a rite-of-passage drama. But unlike those other two films, there is no rebellion against the institution in this German drama but instead a frighteningly stoic withdrawal.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Striking Bernd Tischer (this is his only listed film role on IMDb) makes quite an impression as the school&#8217;s dominant bully; and in a surprising bit of casting, Barbara Steele plays a prostitute who piques T\u00f6rless&#8217;s curiosity more than his lust.  <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer-Steele.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer-Steele-1024x617.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92834\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer-Steele-1024x617.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer-Steele-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer-Steele-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer-Steele-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer-Steele-448x270.png 448w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer-Steele.png 1194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On a side note, I was particularly interested in revisiting this film after learning more about Carri\u00e8re through his daughter Alice&#8217;s recently released memoir, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spiegelandgrau.com\/everything\/nothing\/someone\"><em>Everything Nothing Someone<\/em> (2023)<\/a>, in which she very openly discusses the impact of his eccentric, philosophy-driven parenting style on her own fragile sense of self; one can see traces of the father she describes in this much earlier role for Carri\u00e8re (his breakthrough film). <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mathieu Carri\u00e8re as T\u00f6rless<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-1024x617.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92815\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-1024x617.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere-448x270.png 448w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Carriere.png 1194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Bernd Tischer as Beineberg<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer2-1024x617.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92824\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer2-1024x617.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer2-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer2-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer2-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer2-448x270.png 448w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Tischer2.png 1194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Franz Rath&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Writing.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Writing-1024x617.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-92816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Writing-1024x617.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Writing-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Writing-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Writing-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Writing-448x270.png 448w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Young-Torless-Writing.png 1194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a powerful early entry in New German cinema. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Foreign Gem<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0060574\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/96570\/young-torless#articles-reviews?articleId=1091958\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/96570\/young-torless#articles-reviews?articleId=90288\">TCM DVD Review <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.criterion.com\/current\/posts\/669-young-torless\">Criterion Essay<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/movies\/young-torless\/review\/2000304207\/\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You agree to everything. You are a coward!&#8221; Synopsis: At an early 20th century boarding school in Austria, new arrival Thomas T\u00f6rless (Mathieu Carri\u00e8re) is distressed to find two classmates &#8212; Reiting (Fred Dietz) and Beineberg (Bernd Tischer) &#8212; bullying a fellow student named Basini (Marian Seidowsky), who has been caught stealing. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Barbara Steele Films Boarding School Bullies Coming of Age German Films Teenagers Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Peary notes that this &#8220;compelling adaptation of&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=92810\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=92810"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92843,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92810\/revisions\/92843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=92810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=92810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=92810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}