Friedrich Bhaur is a professor at the boarding house which major character, Jo March, works in the 2019 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s book, Little Women. The film is set in the nineteenth century, mainly in Concord, Massachusetts during the Civil War. The film is centred on the lives of four sisters, and their journey from childhood to adulthood, as well as, what life is like for young women during this era. Although it is centred on all the girls’ lives, Jo March is the major character as the story follows her life more closely. Freidrich is introduced when Jo is at the boarding school in New York. Friedrich is only seen in a handful of scenes throughout the film, but in each scene, more of his character is demonstrated. He is infatuated by Jo, however, is shy about his feelings towards her. But, he does travel from New York to see Jo at her home in Concord, which subtly implies his feelings about her since he travelled only to see her. During this scene in Jo’s home, Friedrich also directs the attention of the scene essentially onto himself when he asks about the piano in the room and proceeds to plays a tune. This causes everyone to watch which creates an emotional scene as the family remembers their late sister who used to play the piano. This demonstrates what Christian Keathley in “Small Parts, Small Players” defines as “bits of business”, which we see as moments of acting that are functional and anchor the mood while also illuminating the character (80). The scene anchors the mood through the family remembering their sister while also illuminating Friedrich demonstrating his talent of playing the piano, adding more to his character. During the interactions with Jo, we see how nervous he gets around her when looking at his body language and the way he interacts with her. However, in the scene when he is reviewing and critiquing her stories we see another side of him. One that is honest and rather blunt, yet this also demonstrates how smart he is, and with his job being a professor we also see this. Furthermore, he is also referred to as an “accomplished man” further adding to the idea of him as an intellectual. During this scene, however, we also see the caring and true friend he is to Jo, as he is honest with her and tells her the truth about her writing, even though it may hurt her feelings. Although he does not intend to hurt her feelings, instead gives his honest opinion, this demonstrates how much he wants her to succeed which, therefore, demonstrates him as being helpful and supportive.
Works Cited
Gerwig, Greta, director. Little Women. Columbia Pictures, 2019.
Will Straw. “Introduction”, Screen, Volume 52, Issue 1, 2011. 80. https://watermark.silverchair.com/hjq057.pdf
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