The Education of Jane Cumming
Set in 19th-century Scotland, this beautiful drama follows women from marginalised communities who find safety in one another—only to ultimately turn that vulnerability against each other.
Edinburgh, 1810. In this drama film based on true events, Jane Pirie (Flora Nicholson) and Marianne Woods (Clare Dunne), two teachers striving for independence, join forces to open a girls’ boarding school. The school welcomes Jane Cumming (Mia Tharia), a teenager who has moved from India to Scotland and is the granddaughter of a wealthy aristocrat (Fiona Shaw). The other pupils shun Jane, who is half-Indian, and she in turn relies on the two teachers for support.
The boundaries between work and private life begin to blur when the trio end up spending the summer together under pressure from Jane’s grandmother. Over the course of the summer, a delicate family dynamic develops between them. The relationship between the teachers also deepens, and young Jane senses this. When Jane later experiences disappointment at the hands of the teachers, she decides to use this against them.
Visually poetic and beautifully acted, The Education of Jane Cumming subtly portrays 19th-century social hierarchies, racism and homophobia. In the film, members of minority groups find refuge in one another – but ultimately end up tragically using this vulnerability as a weapon against one another.
Riikka Pennanen (translated by Moritz Müller)
Screenings
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Maxim 1Sun 20.9. at 18.45–20.39114 min, 1/3
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Kino ReginaThu 24.9. at 20.30–22.24114 min, 2/3
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Kino ReginaSat 26.9. at 16.00–17.54114 min, 3/3