La salle des profs

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.

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.

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.

A great film about an important topic. The film hardly leaves any time to breathe, the atmosphere is so cramped. The 4:3 format is so close to the action that you can literally feel the captivity of the leading actress Leonie Benesch, who plays brilliantly. We follow a teacher in her first job as she tries to do the right thing but can no longer uphold her own moral standards. How she gets further and further into a whirlpool.

A psychogram of a teacher who is under pressure and there seems to be no way out. Teachers don't have it easy and the film impressively shows a reflection of this incredible profession through acting, film and music.

I've always said being a teacher would be the worst job on Earth. I'm not sure if it was the point of 'The Teachers' Lounge' to prove my theory right, but it certainly did that. This was nightmare fuel and we see it all from the point of view of the teacher. I lost count of how many times I said out loud, "just quit and move to the other side of the country and become a farmer" (or something to that effect).

This film had no business being as captivating as it was. I was hooked on every word and needed to know what direction it was going to go in next. It's again proof that if you have good dialogue and an interesting story, action sequences of any kind are completely unnecessary for a film to be interesting.

I haven't watched many German films, but if this is an indication of their quality then I would happily watch more. 9/10.