Torment (Oxford Films) and A Cage of Nightingales (Lopert), both European films, tell in schoolboy terms of an old, bitter, incurable conflict: the free, self-responsible, self-governing spirit v. authority.
In Torment, made in Sweden, the central character is a fine-minded, troubled boy in his late teens (Alf Kjellin). The villain is a pathologically cruel Latin teacher (Stig Jarrel). The provocatress of disaster is a loose girl of the town (Mai Zetterling) with whom the boy becomes involved, partly through sexual infatuation. But he is also concerned over her terror of a pitiless lover whom she dares not name but who, it becomes more & more obvious, is the sick teacher. Commencement time is approaching. The boy becomes ever less capable of study, ever more painfully the victim of his own confused love affair and of the teacher's venom.
Until this film loses control in pure melodrama it is one of the best pictures of the year—a frank and intelligent drama, powerfully directed and beautifully played. The true subtleties of classroom torture, as distinct from the simple brutalities, have never before been shown on the screen with such penetration. But about midway, Torment goes into double focus. What began so firmly, with such compassionate reality, becomes embroiled in mere horror-melodrama. In the long run, by trying to handle two things at once, the picture loses its grip on both.
In Cage of Nightingales, made in France, the central character is a young teacher (French Comedian Noël-Noël) who gets a job in a boys' reform school. Ruled over by boneheaded authoritarians and worse, the boys are well on their way towards becoming neurotics or criminals. Cage is simply the story, told with wisdom and humor, of how the new teacher opposes his bosses and wins over his pupils with the unpretentious methods of good sense, kindliness, and a talent for interesting children in singing. The picture is never as ambitious or exciting as the best of Torment, but it never loses its own particular low-keyed charm. Both films demonstrate the superiority of good sense over nonsense and are excellent sermons against big & little forms of tyranny.