The film is a harsh critique of bourgeois values and the hypocrisy of so-called polite society. The house for wayward girls is run by a couple that are meant to reform the girls, but instead are cast as sadists who seem to take pleasure humiliating and hurting those placed in their care. It's no wonder that upon escaping that school, Thymian begins to work at a brothel where the women seem like a sisters. In fact, the only positive relationships in the film tend to be between the women.
It is a very empowering film towards women and harsh critique of gender double standards; this is somewhat surprising considering it was made in 1929. Despite certain underlying positive messages, much of the film feels heart-breakingly inevitable. Thymian seems to slip from one situation to another without any ability to dictate her fate; she even is shown as fainting in several scenes. It's a harsh world-view where everyone seems to be either a victim or villain and there's no escape. Those who don't fit into the confines of regular society are "lost."
While the film is bleak and Thymian's situation seems to alter many times without seeming to improve, we are not left entirely devastated. There are moments of hope, such as when Thymian chooses to forgive a woman who wronged her and give generously. In the end, the film serves almost as a warning than anything else. It concludes with the line, "with a little more love, no one on this earth would be lost!" Thymian might in time recover from all the wrong that has been committed against her and even escape her past, but we cannot know that her good position at the end of the film won't be as temporary as her past situations. Therefore, we are instructed to take the film's parting words with us and focus on not let such suffering occur again...
Diary of a Lost Girl, screencaps by me
Much can be lost in the transition between book and film, but as The Thin Man illustrates much can also be gained. The movie was based on a novel by one of the father's of noir, Dashiell Hammett. However, the film starring William Powell and Myrna Loy is a "drawing-room comedy with dead bodies." Decidedly not a noir classic, but a classic none-the-less. The movie is filled with ridiculous characters and unlikely plot twists; in the middle of this swirling hurricane stands semi-retired detective Nick Charles (Powell) with a drink in his hand, a witticism on his tongue, and a sage expression on his face.
Perhaps my favorite Jean-Luc Godard film is the lovely A Woman Is A Woman. Featuring Anna Karina it is classic french new wave with a nod to American musical comedies. It's a plotless love triangle centering on Angela (Karina) who desperately wants a child.
I recently stumbled across these film stills from The Blue Bird, a classic 1918 silent film and it jogged hazy (even trippy) memories of the movie. Those memories prompted a re-watching and the silent film was just as wonderful and slightly hallucinagentic as remembered. 
