I kind of expected that this movie would not bother me as much as the American remake, because I watched the remake first and knew what to expect this time. However, I was wrong. This version of The Kindergarten Teacher is basically the exact same story with only a handful of differences, so it still made my skin crawl. Watching this woman make all the wrong decisions about how to behave with a student was infuriating yet again. However, this version feels more stark and lifeless. A big reason for that is Sarit Larry who I don't think is a very strong actress, as she doesn't bring much emotion to her performance. And I'm comparing the film to one featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal
(a very good actress,) so naturally this version is going to feel a bit weak in comparison. I also struggled a bit with the poems in this version. It's possible something is lost in the translation, but some of the language used by this 5-year-old kid is way too advanced. Again, I do recognize that it could be a translation misstep or even a cultural difference, but I wouldn't expect a child of that age to even know some of these words, let alone use them effectively in a poem. The poems they utilized in the American version had a beauty to them, but only contained words that a child of that age would know. To sum up, while the remake is a movie I hated because of how awkward and uncomfortable it made me feel while watching, the original The Kindergarten Teacher was even worse. I can't see myself recommending this version of the film to anyone.
