The Teachers' Lounge was Germany's entrant for Best International (Foreign Language) film at the 2024 Oscars, beaten by the equally fine, The Zone of Interest (the UK's nominee, though also in German). Leonie Benesch plays Carla Nowak, a young, slightly idealistic maths (and sports?) teacher at a primary school in Germany. There's been a spate of thefts at the school, in class as well as in the teachers' room. When a lad of Turkish origin is wrongly accused, Carla defends him and disagrees with the methods used by the school authorities. This doesn't endear her to some of her colleagues but when she finds evidence of a theft in the teachers' room, the scheiße really hits the fan.
Benesch, seen before in The White Ribbon and Persian Lessons, is incredible. She really sells her sincerity and in the moments when the tension rises, her expressions are priceless. In one almost unbearable scene at a parent/teacher night, Carla is passive-aggressively confronted by some of her students' parents, then accused not so passively. I felt awfully clenched during this scene, and was glad when it was over. It's reminiscent of Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, but with less vulgarity and more vertigo.
The students are great too, especially young Leonard Stettnisch on debut, as Oskar, Carla's key adversary and most promising student. Eva Löbau, as Oskar's mother, Friederike Kuhn, is inscrutably excellent, and Michael Klammer brings the arrogant righteousness as fellow teacher, Mr. Liebenwerda.
Director and co-writer (with Johannes Duncker), Ilker Çatak imbues the film with a creeping sense of alienation, not just in the classroom, but also in the teachers' lounge, and logically, within society itself. At one point, Carla has to ask a fellow teacher to refrain from speaking Polish with her, at least at work, just for the sake of the other teachers. The snide remarks, accusations and marginalising tactics keep coming, leading to a readjustment in the audience - might we be wrong to side with Carla after all? Çatak has said that the film is not about making a statement "but about asking a question." Well, he hasn't made this question an easy one to answer.
There are two key points that enhance the quality of the film: the set/location and the music. Aside from one breathless sortie, the action never leaves the school. We see no hint of an external life for any of the players, teacher, student, nor staff. It's almost claustrophobic, and this doesn't allow the viewer any form of escape or relaxation. And Marvin Miller's plucking, buzzing score is terrific at heightening the suspense and tautness. All the while, we're evaluating where we stand in this spiralling situation - who are the victims? Who, if anyone, are being slighted, unfairly treated?
Depending on your worldview, you may see the climax as a victory for progressive education, or a school pandering to little shits and 'monster' parents, or maybe the traditional trope of an over-caring teacher breaking through to a troubled student. The final shots of the empty school and the situation's resolution, if you can call it that, show that Çatak has a satirical mischief to him. Certainly, The Teachers' Lounge will resonate with teachers. At the final credits, a woman behind me commented that it was a "very accurate documentary." Whether taken as fact or fiction, this is a brilliant, must-see film.
The Teachers' Lounge opens April 25th at the Luna and Palace cinemas. There are also Afternoon Tea screenings at the Luna on April 20th and Luna on SX in Freo on April 25th.
See also:
There are lots of similarities to Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt (2012) and Laurent Cantet's The Class (2008), but the tension levels were almost akin to Damien Chazelle's Whiplash (2014).
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