Young Törless
Encyclopedia
Young Törless is a 1966 German film directed by Volker Schlöndorff
, adapted from the autobiographical novel
The Confusions of Young Törless
by Robert Musil
. It deals with the sadistic
and homoerotic tendencies of a group of boys at an Austria
n military academy
at the beginning of the 20th century.
) arrives at the academy, he learns how Anselm von Basini (Marian Seidowsky) has been caught stealing by fellow student Reiting (Fred Dietz), and is obliged to become Reiting's "slave," bowing to Reiting's sadistic rituals. Törless follows their relationship with intellectual interest but without emotional involvement.
Also partaking in these sessions is Beineberg (Bernd Tischer), with whom Törless visits Bozena (Barbara Steele
), the local prostitute. Again, Törless is aloof and more intrigued than excited by the woman.
He is however very eager to understand imaginary numbers, which are mentioned in his maths lesson. The maths teacher is unwilling or unable to explain what these are, stating that in life, emotion is what rules everything - even mathematics.
After Basini is nearly lynched by a mob because of one of Reiting's intrigues, Törless realises intellectually that the other boys are simply cruel. He seems no more or less emotionally moved by this than by the revelation that he cannot understand imaginary numbers. He decides that he does not want to partake in cruelty, so decides to leave the academy. His teachers think that he is too "highly strung" for his own good, and do not want him to stay anyway - they are part of the system which can allow such terrible things to be done to the weak and vulnerable.
The attitudes of most of the people in the film echo the situation in Germany 40 years after Törless is supposed to have existed - in which Nazis showed no mercy,were obsessed with superiority, were supposedly dispassionate about human suffering but in fact succumbed to the basest emotionalism and destructiveness. Like so many people during the Nazi era, Törless is either conforms and goes along with evil deeds, or else pays lip service to the idea that it is bad, but has not the courage or feeling to take an active moral stance against it. He saves his own skin, coexisting with the evil regime by turning his back on it, rather than in trying to change anything. When the film was made, there was little public discussion in Germany of the Nazi era - it was all too close at that time. So Schlöndorff appears to have been taking the opportunity to air these significant issues in a half-disguised form.
At the end of the film Törless gets his mother to take him away from the school. As he drives away, laughing, we understand that there is no pity for the vulnerable, realise that nobody will ever stand up for them, and see most powerfully how the seeds of later German corruption are being sown.
, the noted German modernist composer. Henze, who came of age during the war, was prominent enough in this introspection by virtue of his left-political activism in the arts to feel driven to expatriation from Germany.
at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival
. It was also selected as the German entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
at the 39th Academy Awards
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Volker Schlöndorff
Volker Schlöndorff is a Berlin-based German filmmaker who has worked in Germany, France and the United States...
, adapted from the autobiographical novel
Autobiographical novel
An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fiction elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction...
The Confusions of Young Törless
The Confusions of Young Törless
The Confusions of Young Törless , the title of the novel is sometimes translated as Young Törless or Young Torless, is the literary debut of the Austrian novelist and essayist Robert Musil, first published in 1906.-Plot introduction:Musil's novel is ostensibly a Bildungsroman, a story of a young...
by Robert Musil
Robert Musil
Robert Musil was an Austrian writer. His unfinished long novel The Man Without Qualities is generally considered to be one of the most important modernist novels...
. It deals with the sadistic
Sadism and masochism
Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...
and homoerotic tendencies of a group of boys at an Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n military academy
Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
at the beginning of the 20th century.
Plot
The story is set at the beginning of the 20th century. When Thomas Törless (Mathieu CarrièreMathieu Carrière
Mathieu Carrière is a German actor.Carrière grew up in Berlin and Lübeck; he attended the Jesuit boarding school Lycée Saint-François-Xavier in Vannes, France, a school which had previously been attended by the director of Carrière's first major film, Volker Schlöndorff. In 1969 Carrière moved to...
) arrives at the academy, he learns how Anselm von Basini (Marian Seidowsky) has been caught stealing by fellow student Reiting (Fred Dietz), and is obliged to become Reiting's "slave," bowing to Reiting's sadistic rituals. Törless follows their relationship with intellectual interest but without emotional involvement.
Also partaking in these sessions is Beineberg (Bernd Tischer), with whom Törless visits Bozena (Barbara Steele
Barbara Steele
Barbara Steele is an English film actress. She is best known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. Her breakthrough role came in Italian director Mario Bava's Black Sunday , now hailed as a classic.Steele starred in a string of horror films, including The Horrible Dr...
), the local prostitute. Again, Törless is aloof and more intrigued than excited by the woman.
He is however very eager to understand imaginary numbers, which are mentioned in his maths lesson. The maths teacher is unwilling or unable to explain what these are, stating that in life, emotion is what rules everything - even mathematics.
After Basini is nearly lynched by a mob because of one of Reiting's intrigues, Törless realises intellectually that the other boys are simply cruel. He seems no more or less emotionally moved by this than by the revelation that he cannot understand imaginary numbers. He decides that he does not want to partake in cruelty, so decides to leave the academy. His teachers think that he is too "highly strung" for his own good, and do not want him to stay anyway - they are part of the system which can allow such terrible things to be done to the weak and vulnerable.
The attitudes of most of the people in the film echo the situation in Germany 40 years after Törless is supposed to have existed - in which Nazis showed no mercy,were obsessed with superiority, were supposedly dispassionate about human suffering but in fact succumbed to the basest emotionalism and destructiveness. Like so many people during the Nazi era, Törless is either conforms and goes along with evil deeds, or else pays lip service to the idea that it is bad, but has not the courage or feeling to take an active moral stance against it. He saves his own skin, coexisting with the evil regime by turning his back on it, rather than in trying to change anything. When the film was made, there was little public discussion in Germany of the Nazi era - it was all too close at that time. So Schlöndorff appears to have been taking the opportunity to air these significant issues in a half-disguised form.
At the end of the film Törless gets his mother to take him away from the school. As he drives away, laughing, we understand that there is no pity for the vulnerable, realise that nobody will ever stand up for them, and see most powerfully how the seeds of later German corruption are being sown.
Cast
- Mathieu CarrièreMathieu CarrièreMathieu Carrière is a German actor.Carrière grew up in Berlin and Lübeck; he attended the Jesuit boarding school Lycée Saint-François-Xavier in Vannes, France, a school which had previously been attended by the director of Carrière's first major film, Volker Schlöndorff. In 1969 Carrière moved to...
- Thomas Törless - Marian Seidowsky - Anselm von Basini
- Bernd Tischer - Beineberg
- Fred Dietz - Reiting
- Lotte LedlLotte Ledl-Selected filmography:* Eine fast perfekte Scheidung-An Almost Perfect Wedding * 38 / 38 - Auch das war Wien-'38 Home to the Realm * Derrick - Season 9, Episode 04: "Die Fahrt nach Lindau" * Derrick - Season 8, Episode 02: "Am Abgrund"...
- Gastwirtin / Innkeeper - Jean LaunayJean LaunayJean Launay is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Lot department, and is a member of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche.-References:...
- Mathematiklehrer / Maths Teacher - Barbara SteeleBarbara SteeleBarbara Steele is an English film actress. She is best known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. Her breakthrough role came in Italian director Mario Bava's Black Sunday , now hailed as a classic.Steele starred in a string of horror films, including The Horrible Dr...
- Bozena
Music
The film's significance as a cultural artifact of German post-WWII introspection is enhanced by the fact that its haunting medieval-sounding score is written by Hans Werner HenzeHans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
, the noted German modernist composer. Henze, who came of age during the war, was prominent enough in this introspection by virtue of his left-political activism in the arts to feel driven to expatriation from Germany.
Awards
The film won the FIPRESCI PrizeFIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival
1966 Cannes Film Festival
The 19th Cannes Film Festival was held on May 5-20, 1966. To honour the festival's 20th anniversary, a special prize was given.-Jury:*Sophia Loren *Marcel Achard *Vinicius de Moraes *Tetsuro Furukaki...
. It was also selected as the German entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 39th Academy Awards
39th Academy Awards
The 39th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1966, were held on April 10, 1967 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California...
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
See also
- List of submissions to the 39th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of German submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film