‘Olivia’ Part 5: Death by a Thousand Cuts

Each character in Olivia is grappling with a universal experience—whether it be the hope of self-discovery, the determination to move forward, or the fear of being left behind—all through the lens of queer womanhood. Overcoming the challenges of these experiences is integral to their survival, and what unfolds in the film is a series of bittersweet mistakes, difficult choices, and broken promises that add such layered nuance to this story that queer women are still drawn to it today.

November 6, 2021 0

‘Olivia’ Part 4: The Ego

The core issue in Olivia, save for Olivia’s love sickness, is that neither Julie nor Cara are particularly careful about how and where they seek love and validation. Both rely on being exalted—we see this play out in their relationships with the girls at the Les Avons.

September 26, 2021 0

‘Olivia’ Part 3: The Invisible String

Upon arriving at Les Avons, Olivia is promptly informed that pupils typically fall into two camps: Julistes (those who prefer Julie) and Caristes (those who prefer Cara). Several students make bets about which camp Olivia will fall into, perhaps unaware that she, most of all, shouldn’t have a preference.

April 14, 2021 0

‘Olivia’ Part 2: Contextualizing Julie’s Dilemma

Since its restoration and re-release in 2019, Olivia has attracted new eyes, new opinions. Film enthusiasts, eager to whip up a review upon first viewing, have all written of the film’s predatory, unspeakable—and today, incomprehensible—queer love between a boarding school’s headmistress and her sixteen-year-old student.

April 7, 2021 0

‘Olivia’ Part 1: Connections

Olivia. It’s a name that lovers of queer cinema have long heard echoing in the depths of their ears. And for good reason: the velvety voice of Edwige Feuillère is hard to forget. For nearly a century, that voice has elicited in audiences a shiver of the spine, a flutter of the heart, a quiver of the legs. It’s a voice that permeates the 1951 film in which she speaks this name and does to its target much the same as it has done to the countless women (and men, of course) who’ve come to know it.

March 27, 2021 0