original title:
The Fine Art of Love: Mine Ha-Ha
italian title:
L'educazione fisica delle fanciulle
directed by:
cast:
screenplay:
Ottavio Jemma, screenplay revision: Jim Carrington
cinematography:
set design:
Nello Giorgetti, con la supervisione di Dante Ferretti
costume design:
music:
producer:
Stefania Bifano, Ida Di Benedetto, André Djaoui, Patrick Irvin, Ian Balzer
production:
Titania Produzioni, Rai Cinema, supported by Ministero della Cultura, Creative Partners International (London), Balzer International Film (Prague), in collaboration with: Box Film (London)
distribution:
country:
Italy/Uk/Czech Republic
year:
2005
film run:
107'
format:
35mm - colour
release date:
25/11/2006
festivals & awards:
The story takes place in Turingia, at the very beginning of the twentieth century, it circles around the lives of six, sixteen year old girls who have been boarders in a luxury boarding school since childhood. Here they are taught dance, music and good manners under the guidance of the intolerant and severe teachers.
The rules are incredibly strict, they must work very hard, and are forbidden to have any contact whatsoever with the outside world, but are all hopeful of winning the anticipated prize, which is getting to perform in the most prestigious ballet in town, which means becoming the star.
A world that is very organized and strict but apparently serene where the young girls who grew up together are raised in close contact with nature-between the small lake , waterfall and park-they can swim, play and even have fun. However behind all this façade, lie very different realities which are jealously concealed by the ambiguous principal. Vera who is the least naïve of the young girls, is the only who intuitively suspects something, but will end up paying dearly this need to understand.
From the story - "Mine-haha, the physical education of young girls" by Frank Wedekind.