La Maternelle (film)

La Maternelle International title Children of Montmartre is a 1933 French film directed and written by Jean BenoitLvy and Marie Epstein. It was adapted from Lon Frapis Prix Goncourt winning novel La Maternelle 1904. In 1935, it was ranked as the 6th best foreign film by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, and has received an 7.3 ranking out ofby 71 reviewers at the Internet Movie Database. It has also been noted as one of the earliest French films to use speech.citation needed

In 1935, The New York Times called it a film of extraordinary insight, tenderness and tragic beauty. And claimed that Mr. BenoitLevy presents a heartbreaking crosssection of this tatterdemalion kindergarten in such minor portraits as the little boy who has never learned how to smile. The author of the 1996 book To Desire Differently Feminism amp the French Cinema, Sandy FlittermanLewis, recently commented I need to reaffirm that although my book deals with female authorship, the exquisite 1933 film LA MATERNELLE was made by two directors, Jean BenoitLevy and Marie Epstein. For purposes of my book, I chose to emphasize Epsteins participation in thefeature films she made with BenoitLevy. However, further research has indicated that in fact, Epstein codirected some films and assisted on others. In this light, I wish to correct the mistaken impression that this is Maries film alone. While I appreciate the fact that she has gotten much needed attention, I am emphatic about reinstating Jean BenoitLevy as the primary director of LA MATERNELLE. ........

Source: Wikipedia