The Children's Hour1961

"The wicked very young. The wicked very old." - an absolutely heartbreaking film—beautiful, moving, and compelling. i bawled my eyes out to this while trying to sew the hemline of my sweater, and i did not get anything done because my eyes were glued to the screen. i just cannot believe this movie was made in 1961. i haven’t seen many films from that era, but i’d assume that movies exploring sensitive issues like this weren’t received very warmly back then, especially since the idea of homosexuality was still considered highly taboo. the dialogue, the casting, the acting itself—it is all just superb. the part where martha confesses that her feelings toward karen are romantic? oh my god, don't even get me started. that scene will probably be etched in my mind forever. 🥹🥹 - Martha: There's always been something wrong. Always, just as long as I can remember. But I never knew what it was until all this happened. Karen: Stop it Martha! Stop this crazy talk! Martha: You're afraid of hearing it, but I'm more afraid than you. - it’s such a powerful scene. martha looks away from karen, and it sounds like a torturous confession, which makes it even more heartbreaking. i've read some reviews on reddit and various blogs, and a lot of people seem unsure about whether karen was in love with martha, too. i like to think that it was intentionally made open-ended and vague, leaving room for the tragic possibility that karen did love martha back, but lived in a world so deeply hostile to them that she couldn't even admit the truth to herself. maybe martha herself thought it was unnatural, and mistook the romantic ache in her chest as platonic because she had been taught that any other love was impossible. obviously the ending is up for interpretation, but even if the feelings were entirely one-sided, its still altogether too tragic - "What are we going to do? It's all so cold and unreal and awful. It's like that dark hour of the night, when half awake, you struggle through the black mess you've been dream.... But it's all a nightmare; there is no solid world." - yes, the children's hour has its problematic elements like most older films, but it’s still one of the earliest examples of queer representation in classic cinema. unlike so many other movies of its time, it didn't feel like it was trying to demonize its characters. id argue that instead of painting martha like a predatory creep, it showed her as a real human being, who was kind, loving, and sympathetic. i feel that the film meant for the villain of the story to be the prejudice of the era itself. mary tilford's lie only had power because the society around her was already so eager to condemn and destroy anything it deemed different. the casting for that kid was awesome bro i was so irritated every time that kid came on screen 😭 - a wonderful film that definitely needs to be talked about more. if you're reading this and you haven't seen it yet, go watch it right neoowww!!!!