Although one may be tempted to classify The Teacher’s Lounge (Das Lehrerzimmer) as a treatise on the social dynamics within the setting of a high school in Germany, there is far more at work here that is indicative of the Oscar nomination for Best International Feature Film bestowed upon the work this year. It is, in short, one of the best films of the year.
This collapse of the various social structures within the school following the crimes and subsequent accusations of culpability plays out somewhat akin to something like Lord of the Flies, showcasing the collapse of societal norms and proper behavior in the face of adversity. Throughout the proceedings, a tension is building that seems destined to lead to some sort of horrific ending for many of the characters and that is the brilliance of the film at work. The film ultimately plays more like a mystery/thriller than a treatise on the collapse of society.
Director Ilker Çatak, working from a script penned by himself and Johannes Duncker, creates one of the most stirring and provocative films in recent memory with The Teacher’s Lounge. There is hardly a moment – if any – of screen time wasted throughout the film. Every frame and shot serves a purpose. This is an artistic statement and one said loud and clear.
Leonie Benesch is enthralling as Nowak. She plays the character as someone trying to do the right thing, by any means necessary, even though that might not always be the correct way to go about it. Her performance carries the film and serves as a solid throughline from beginning to end. Even though the story ostensibly centers at times around other teachers and a few of the students in particular – such as Leonard Stettnisch’s portrayal of Oskar – it is Benesch that breathes life into all the film’s characters and their individual conflicts with her relationship to them.
The tight setting of the school adds to the claustrophobic, pressure-cooker feel of the entire film, which is showcased by Judith Kaufmann’s cinematography that manages to give the school its own character of sorts and fuses with Gesa Jäger’s editing to, again, allow the film to play as a whodunit than social commentary.
The profound depth of the story and the sweeping breadth of the conflicts that befall the characters within the film transforms The Teacher’s Lounge into an enthralling examination of social dynamics that is easily one of the finest films of the year.
Mike Tyrkus
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