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When I startes watching "Diary of a lost girl" my expectation was that this was a twin film of "Pandora's box" (1929, Georg Wilhelm Pabst). Both films were a Pabst / Louise Brooks collaboration and in both films (I thought) the Louise Brooks character (Lulu in "Pandora's box" and Thymian in "Diary of a lost girl") symbolized the decadence of the roaring twenties.

I was surprised that after all Thymian is entirely different from Lulu. Lulu is a call girl (who ends badly), and Thymian is in the first place a victim of a society in which it is "normal" that men satisfy their sexual needs and women pay the price. Because Thymian differs from Lulu, "Diary of a lost girl" differs from "Pandora's box". In effect "Diary of a lost girl" is more akin to "The joyless street" (1925, Georg Wilhelm Pabst).

One of the lead actress of "The joyless street" was Greta Garbo. For her the Pabst film was the start of her career. For Louise Brooks it was the end. She was too independent for the Hollywood dream factory. In retrospect however the two films she made with Pabst gave her immortality (some decades later).

Apart from the Thymian character I was amazed by the rather obvious lesbian character of the matron of the reformatory Thymian is sent to (when she has "to pay the price"). The film was however made outside Hollywood in the first place and before the production code in the second. The actress playing this role (Valeska Gert) is moreover another link to "The joyless street". In this film she plays Frau Greifer, who runs a nightclub annex brothel.

Louise Brooks stars as Thymian, the teenage daughter of a well-to-do pharmacist (Josef Rovensky). When Thymian is taken advantage of by her father's sleazy assistant Meinert (Fritz Rasp), she becomes pregnant. After the baby is born and given up for adoption, Thymian is sent to a reform school, where the harsh treatment sends her on to an even darker, more troubled future.

The source material was a scandalous novel by Margarete Bohme, and the film seems to be going for moral shock and titillation. Rasp is terrific in his defining role as the shark-like predatory Meinert. This was Brooks and Pabst's second collaboration, after 1928's Pandora's Box. Both films have developed a following since their release, and Brooks has become something of an iconic cult figure. But it's mainly from her appearance, as her performances are rather a blank slate. Some viewers may project more depth or nuance onto her, but to me she's a pretty mannequin. I wish the copy I had seen was better, and a top-to-bottom restoration would add much to film's appeal, I think.

I saw Pandora's Box several years ago. At the time, Diary of a Lost Girl was unavailable for viewing. I discovered it had been re- released on DVD, completely restored. It is far superior to Pandora's Box, in my opinion. Louise Brooks plays Thyamin, a young innocent who is raped by her lothario father's chemist assistant. Her pregnancy results in her banishment from the house, and she is placed in a reform school. Her escape from the institution leads her to a brothel, where she spends her life until her father's death...when her life changes. Unlike Pandora's Box, which is about an unredeemable nymphomaniac, Diary of A Lost Girl is a story about loss, redemption, forgiveness, sacrifice, and hope. It has a much richer plotline, sublime cinematography, and Louise Brooks shone like a star. This film itself is a rediscovered treasure. Highly, highly recommended.

Louise Brooks is Thymian, a girl with an unfortunate tendency to swoon in the arms of unscrupulous men. She has an unwanted baby and, abandoned by her father and cruel mother-in-law is sent to a harsh reformatory from which she escapes only to wake up one morning and discover she is a prostitute. Brooks is charming and effective as Thymian, a delicate, kind-hearted girl whose innocence is only cruelly taken advantage of - she certainly has no trouble getting us on her side and it's partly to do with the sense of childish happiness you feel is ready to burst out of her despite the adversity. She looks even cuter with her hair slicked back in the workhouse. Not as powerful and bleakly tragic as Pandora's Box, made the same year - but, with plenty of humour and some outrageous characterisations, is probably more entertaining.

Silent films may not be for everybody, some may find some of them static, histrionic and creaky. Likewise with films from the 20s, with those being adapted from stage plays having a lot of traps that tended to be fallen into. As for me, while there are some that are not great or even good and do not hold up there are plenty that are good and even great. Such as the best of FW Murnau, Fritz Lang, DW Griffith and Abel Gance, all of whom did some very influential work.

GW Pabst is another director to fit under this distinction. He was a major influence in films and was known for his direction of actresses that he had found and developed their acting skills. One of those actresses was Louise Brooks, a gifted and very uniquely photogenic actresses and Pabst was one of the few directors to recognise the major strengths she had and used them to full advantage. Something that sadly did not happen when she transitioned into sound, where people did not seem to know what to do with her. He was also known for doing films that dealt with the difficulties and dangers of women. He proved that again in specifically his films with Brooks, especially 'Pandora's Box' and this film 'Diary of a Lost Girl'.

'Diary of a Lost Girl' may have been butchered by censorship, including a lot of content being excised and the ending apparently not what Pabst had originally intended (correct if wrong). It still remains an incredibly powerful picture that makes one amazed at how such a sordid subject was portrayed on film to this extent, seldom done in film beforehand and not in a way that probably will have shocked many.

It is not quite perfect, though it nearly is. In my view the ending felt a little too preachy.

However, three things are especially brilliant in 'Diary of a Lost Girl'. The cinematography is just exquisite with some incredibly stylish and atmospheric camera angles, which makes it far from visually static. It's handsomely designed too and has some suitably moody lighting. The Expressionistic look enhances the uncompromising atmosphere so well. Pabst's direction is lean and creates a sense of tense uneasiness without ever being ill at ease, handling a harrowing and for back then brave subject and pulling no punches. Brooks is mesmerising in a truly powerful performance that is among her best.

The supporting cast are not quite as great, but are more than solid. The standout to me being Valeska Gert as the beastly matron, calling the character beastly actually is being too kind and Gert is quite frightening. While the ending doesn't completely come off, it at least didn't feel tacked on (unlike too many films that suffered from censor tinkering) and maintained the rest of the film's harrowing tone. Complete with a final line that stays in the mind. The story pulls no punches and still shocks, not feeling tame today.

Overall, wonderful film. 9/10