Leçon de classes

Set in 1983 in a Slovakian school, this is a powerful and dialogue driven Czech film directed by Jan Hrebejk and written by Petr Jarchovsky. During this era, the nation was entrenched in the Soviet Union's Communist orbit.

Zuzana Maurery is superb portraying the imperious and rather despicable teacher Maria Drazdechova, who uses her position of Party Chairwoman at the school to manipulate parents and students into doing all sorts of favors for her. If they refuse, she makes sure they are harassed and given poor grades, while those who cooperate are protected and given high marks.

When a rather tragic incident occurs with one of the harassed students, a meeting is called for all parents in the teacher's class to try and investigate what exactly is happening. Often told through flashbacks, we begin to see the web Drazdechova has spun here. The supporting cast , too numerous to mention, are truly excellent here, as well, with most naturalistic performances. It will all lead to a highly dramatic conclusion.

All in all, I thought this was a move that was very well acted, directed, and written, so if you like cerebral and intense foreign dramas you may very well like this one.

I dont understand the low ratings for this film. it is a great movie , story telling and acting is superb. i would strongly recommend this movie.

One thing must be explained: only people who lived through this era here in Czechoslovakia, or other Socialist or Communist country, will understand this movie in holistic ways. A perfect cast portraying, what was once an every day practical life of ordinary subordinated people, who either served the system or those who refused and suffered the consequences. The thing is, it does not matter if your motives were opportunistic or not, most were afraid and did only what they had to, just not to be seen stepping out of the row or just simply to survive. Anyhow, my parents were also not part of the Communist party, so I give credit and kudos to all who raised their voices and were often times silenced. Only these people practically know, how hard it was to survive, once you were blacklisted... And the others? It is just very sad, that most of the powerful communists, are today were well established, wealthy and continuing to poison our society in new ways possible... The regimes have changed, but the people remain the same...

Some genre labels are highly deceptive. The Czech Republic produced film The Teacher (2016) is labelled a comedy drama but there is little humour in this dark political satire about totalitarian regimes. Minimalist in dialogue and action, it paints a sombre picture for the youth of the communist world.

The storyline is simple but the atmosphere chilling. It is 1983 in Soviet-era Czechoslovakia and a long way from the child-centred education systems familiar to modern Western audiences. On the first day of school term, new teacher Maria Drazdechova (Zuzana Mauréry) asks each pupil to stand up and declare their parent's occupation. As the powerful chairwoman of the local communist party committee she seems over-confident while the camera pays close attention to her notebook of free services to be called upon. When the pupils inform their parents what happened, a cycle of silent complicity is triggered. Low performing pupils whose parents agree to Maria's hints, such as a free haircut, a fridge repair, or housecleaning, suddenly show an improvement in their school marks. High performing students whose parents do not curry the teacher's favour see their marks and future career prospects spiral downwards; one even attempts suicide. School authorities are intimated and there is no higher avenue of appeal. Both parents and pupils know that something sinister is happening as their school becomes a place of terror.

The central narrative premise is so disturbing that little embellishment is needed to portray the moral brutality of a corrupt political system. Sub-plots of parent meetings and conspiring pupils add texture to drama. The desaturated filming palette conveys the cold fear of life under communist control and the acting style has a realistic, almost cameo quality that intensifies the trauma of Maria's victims. Zuzana Mauréry and the support cast are largely unknown but are perfect in their roles. Mauréry is particularly effective in portraying a smugly callous disregard for her pupils with a veneer of smiling innocence that masks her ruthless exploitation. While the teacher may depict the corrupt face of totalitarianism it is the parents who reciprocate the mass compliance necessary for propping up such regimes.

It would be hard to describe this film as entertaining. There are few light moments and little to laugh at when depicting the communist way of life. Being sub-titled, some loss of dialogue nuance is inevitable but the message is unmistakable. With an authentic voice and sense of place, this is a gripping allegory for the moral corruption endemic to communism.

"Ucitelka" ("The Teacher") is a film from Slovakia and it's set during the years of Soviet domination--probably the 1980s, though the film never gives an exact date.

The story is set during a special meeting called at a local school. It seems that some parents have complained about the actions of their children's teacher. This teacher is very well connected in the Communist party and, according to some, she's using this power to manipulate parents and children into doing her 'favors'. There's also some indication that if students or parents don't do these favors that the kids' grads will suffer. How true all of this is isn't clear in the beginning and as the meeting progresses, you see flashbacks to give you some indication as to what's been happening.

What's really fascinating isn't the teacher's behavior but that of some of the parents who try to exert pressure on other parents to shut up and drop the matter. Additionally, this movie obviously wouldn't have been made during the occupation and most likely shows some of the fear that permeated the lives of Slovakians during this time.

In some ways, this film reminds me of "12 Angry Men" or "Rashomon" in that you really don't know exactly what happened but instead you need to sit back and take it all in in order to form your opinion. And, like these films, it's an interesting look at human nature--both for good and bad. One lesson you see in the movie is the notion of the herd mentality--don't rock the boat unless you yourself are personally being hurt by someone or something. Sad....but often true. And, it seems from the epilogue that this was, in fact, a true story as well.

I really liked this movie. There is a depth to it that very unusual and it really showed the awfulness of human nature...whether in an ex-Soviet nation or anywhere else. Well worth seeing and unique in many ways.