Miss Julie

Miss Julie is a 1951 Swedish drama film directed by Alf Sjöberg and starring Anita Björk and Ulf Palme, based on the 1888 play of the same name by August Strindberg. The film deals with class, sex and power as the title character, the daughter of a Count in 19th century Sweden, begins a relationship with one of the estate's servants. The film won the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film at the 1951 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Following a scandalous broken engagement, Miss Julie, the daughter of Count Carl, forgoes a family Midsummers' Eve celebration to "honour" the estate servants' ball with her presence. There, she dances with one of the servants, Jean, whom she is attracted to. She orders him to sit at the table with her for beers, and humiliatingly forces him to kiss her shoe. Outside, she makes advances on him; the hand, hiding behind a sculpture, witnesses the encounter in shock. Miss Julie asks Jean if he has ever been in love. He replies he loved her as a boy, when he lived in poverty and saw her on the estate, but he was chased off as an "urchin". The servants march forward, singing and looking for Jean; Julie and Jean realize the scandal that will erupt if they are seen together, and attempt to escape and hide, but the hand has already told of what he saw. Jean and Julie contemplate escape; Jean, condemning the tradition and class bias of Sweden, wishes to take a train to Italy, where he can run a hotel with investment capital from Julie. Julie replies she has no money of her own, and is shocked by his sudden demeanor of callousness towards her. He is unconcerned about her fears of the Count learning of the scandal, and reveals he is not willing to die for her as he suggested. Just as he had told her about his boyhood, Julie recounts her girlhood: Her mother Berta was a commoner who believed in women's rights and had to be persuaded to marry. She married Count Carl, and they had Julie, who was dressed in boy's clothes, but Julie preferred playing with dolls. The Countess set fire to their home. The Count later attempted suicide by firearm. Upon hearing of the story, Jean declares himself of superior heritage, as Julie is the daughter of an arsonist. Before leaving on Midsummers' Day, Jean sees Julie's finch Serine, and declares they cannot take a birdcage. When Julie says she would rather Serine die than be left behind, Jean breaks its neck; Julie curses him and the day she was born.