The Teachers' Lounge

Greetings again from the darkness. The intensity and stress of everyday life and of everyday people are on full display in this film from writer-director Iler Catak and co-writer Johannes Duncker. They have brilliantly crafted a terrific suspense thriller from the most unexpected setting and group of characters ... a junior high school and the faculty and students.

Teacher Carla Nowak (Leone Benesch, THE WHITE RIBBON, "Babylon Berlin") is new to the school, originally hailing from Poland. She's the type of teacher who motivates students by having them think creatively and from different perspectives. We can immediately tell she's as idealistic as she is passionate about her profession. When one of her students is accused of stealing money, she's at odds with school principal Dr Bohm (Anne-Kathrin Gummich) on the interrogation of students, as well as the conference with the accused student's parents.

It turns out there is quite an epidemic of theft and dishonesty at the school, and it extends to the titular teachers' lounge where Carla herself witnesses an occurrence. Carla decides to set a trap using her laptop's camera and her unattended wallet. When the camera 'catches' the sleeve of an unusual blouse print, Carla confronts the 'obvious' culprit, school administrator Ms. Kuhn (Eva Lobau), who adamantly denies the accusation. Further complicating matters, Carla shows the video to Dr Bohm, who promptly suspends Ms. Kuhn, who also happens to be the mother of Carla's favorite student, Oskar (Leonard Stettnisch).

Carla's best intentions seem to backfire at every turn. She believes in right and wrong, and also in forgiveness and second chances (especially for kids). Her anxiety heightens at each misstep, whether by her, the administration, or students. Soon, even Oskar is lashing out and threatening her, despite Carla's attempt to shield him. Many find Carla's use of the laptop camera more offensive than the actual theft, and the student newspaper journalists seize on this opportunity to incite rebellion and independence.

Much of what we witness on screen is the result of actions taken out of our sightline - we are left to make assumptions right alongside Carla. Film Editor Gesa Jager deserves special recognition for keeping us just a bit off balance. Emptying the teacher's coffee fund, cheating on a test, defying the truth ... all of these (and more) actions are used by filmmaker Catak in delivering a snapshot of a society where we no longer trust one another. Morality, integrity, misplaced concern, racism, classism ... these all play a role here in delivering the message. Leone Benesch is exceptional in the lead role, and Eva Lobau goes full throttle in her attempts to show she was wronged. It's a Rubik's Cube that serves up our final message, as well as providing some hope that good intentions do sometimes pay off. Yesterday, it was announced that the film has been Oscar nominated for Best International Feature Film. A well-deserved honor.

Opens in theaters on January 26, 2024.

I am teacher. I saw this admirable film only from this perspective, admiring its high realism, recognizing ordinary, almost every day crisis, understanding the power , bigger and bigger , decade by decade, of students , their cruelty - not different by the characters of William Golding in The Lord of Flies.

I real loved the performance of Leonie Benesch. I appreciated the fair crafted tension. And the end , I believe, is pure great.

The story - chains of a clash. A terrible one because it is between values, truths, the victim being the honesty, noble intentions, the spirit of dedication and justice of a young teacher, devouted, maybe in too high measure, to her job.

The young actors are just fantastic.

At the end, the hope than the Oscar for Best International Feature Film goes to Das Lehrerzimmer.

I am a high school teacher, and this movie made me reflect on the educator's place in school. The film takes me to Plato's Republic, where it presents the dilemma "it is better to be than to appear virtuous." The protagonist leads us to moments of anguish with her quest for justice, honesty, and virtue in an environment governed by conflicting and often cruel moral issues. Actress Leonie Benesch's performance is confident, brilliantly conveying the emotions experienced by the character. For now, I consider "Das Lehrerzimmer" a real contender to win the award for Best Foreign Film in 2024; it's my choice.

Saw this at the 2023 filmfestival Ghant (Belgium). Very tense experience. Ample opportunity to feel along with all protagonists, even with those I disagree with. I for myself changed positions with each new development. It is my favorite category of film, where one continuously wonders: "What should I have done in that situation??" Many unexpected turns of events, all within the realm of normal possibilities yet still unexpected hence surprising each time, while the problems escalate beyond control.

Maybe the right-wing suggestions against teacher Carla (with a Polish name) and fellow student Ali (with immigrant parents), in particular coming from one particular direct-hitting student, are a bit over the top and unnecessary to make a complete story, but I assume the filmmakers included it on purpose, as those opinions are not uncommon and there is no reason to hide these. Like in the real world outside school, such and similar "arguments" confuse every discussion and only widens the gap between people.

There is a varied set of teachers who each have a significant role in what happens. They think differently about several issues, but not really out of the ordinary. Of course, the parents are much more different and have their own role too, not always a positive one but I assume that reflects reality. Ditto for the students.

All in all, while nothing novel or unexpected is presented, we get a broad overview over common opinions involving dealing with small theft, racism, immigration, adolescent behavior, and last-but-not-least interactions between students, parents and teachers. Nothing we see here is unrealistic. Sufficiently complex to keep us involved and interested.

Modern German cinema haven't been on my radar as while there are a few good German flicks coming around time to time, I haven't been fully wowed by them for some time. I had no idea what to expect going into this movie but this movie was frustrating but in a good way.

It's an interesting character study that explores themes of racial profiling, unauthorized searches, and the school system. Throughout, the camerawork use of 4:3 lens felt purposeful to surround the settings and tone and the direction is pretty strong. The directing, setting, sound designs and pacing help to capture the uncomfortable and intense atmosphere that is being surrounded around the environment and within the characters and the movie does a really good work on capturing the essence.

The characters can be frustrating and unlikeable to an extent but instead of being unbearable, the portrayal of the unlikeable and frustrating characters felt purposeful because of the themes and writing concepts that were explored. Not often where movies are able to have many characters unlikeable, yet, managed to still be emotionally investing and engaging. All of the performances are amazing especially the lead performance from Leonie Benesch as Benesch is absolutely amazing. Even the child actors are great as well.

Many of the social dynamics were well-explored within the simple setting, the pacing is great, and there are some good dialogue moments that genuinely helps to build the intense situations and realism it portrays. There are a few issues I had with the movie which is that I felt certain dialogue moments from the child performances felt a little too fake or staged and there are certain choices I thought could have been approached differently.

Overall, a fascinating and frustrating movie.