Film Notes

The Teachers’ Lounge review: Leonie Benesch is sensational in this unlikely white-knuckle thriller.

A teacher finds herself at centre of prejudice, complacency and institutional failings in this suspenseful German drama.

It’s an unlikely set-up for a white-knuckle thriller. Ilker Çatak’s nervy Oscar nominee follows an idealistic young teacher, Carla Nowak – a sensational Leonie Benesch – who is hoping to make a difference. She does, but not in the way that she intended.

Carla, who is of Polish descent, is quick to come to the defence of her student Ali (Can Rodenbostel), the son of Turkish immigrants, when he is accused of a series of thefts at the school. She understandably rails against heavy-handed tactics that include interrogation and student searches, and is especially dismayed when her colleagues Milosz (Rafael Stachowiak) and Thomas (Michael Klammer) encourage students to tattle on their classmates.

Escalating tensions, amplified by Marvin Miller’s unnerving violin score, are compounded by sensitivities (and insensitivities) to race and class. Carla is already marginalised by her high-mindedness and origins when she sets a trap in the hope of confirming the true thief’s identity.

The sleeve of a polka-dot blouse leads her to an office administrator, Ms Kuhn (Eva Löbau), who is irate when confronted. There are distinct echoes of Jean Vigo’s Zero for Conduct when Kuhn’s son Oskar (Leonard Stettnisch), a sensitive student in Carla’s maths class, becomes increasingly disruptive. Thanks to her illicit recording, Carla then comes under investigation herself.

The script, by Johannes Duncker and director Ilker Çatak, grabs the viewer from the get-go. Judith Kaufmann’s urgent, claustrophobic cinematography tightens the vice-like grip. Dark, angular shifts in lighting and production design signal the heroine’s unravelling. It feels appropriate that Benesch, who made her feature debut in Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon, finds herself at the centre of a dramatic knot of prejudice, complacency and institutional failings.

Tara Brady The Irish Times,  Apr 11 2024

The Teachers’ Lounge review – a masterclass in playground politics.

A teacher’s intervention in a spate of thefts upsets the balance of her school in Ilker Çatak’s taut, Oscar-nominated drama.

The first thing you notice is the score: an apprehensive, pulsing single note, plucked on violins and tightly strung nerves, it’s a choking panic attack in musical form. And it’s a masterclass in using a stripped-back, minimal approach to gripping effect, evident throughout Ilker Çatak’s terrific, taut, Oscar-nominated drama.

The setting is a German secondary school, a location the restless, bustling camera leaves only once. Çatak adds to the oppressive feeling by shooting in a tight, boxed-in aspect ratio: the building may be airy and open plan, but the walls are closing in.

Like Laurent Cantet’s The Class, the school serves as a microcosm, with wider world issues of racial profiling and socioeconomic divisions playing out in miniature. But it works both ways, with a mirror image of playground politics reflected in the mean-girl manoeuvring in the staff room. There’s another parallel with The Class: both films focus on idealistic but fallible teachers who, through an impulsive misstep, upset the delicate balance of their workplace.

Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch) is new to the school, her commitment and optimism still unblunted. When the suspicion for a spate of thefts falls on a particular boy, based on little more than his skin colour, she acts to exonerate him, capturing, through dubious means, evidence that seems to implicate a fellow member of staff. But the accused teacher, single mother of Oskar (Leo Stettnisch), another child in Carla’s class, doggedly protests her innocence. Benesch is superb, her face a glazed mask of panic as the shockwaves resulting from her actions shake the very foundations of the school.

Wendy Ide, The Observer, 13 Apr 2024.

What you thought about The Teachers' Lounge

Film Responses

Collated Response Comments

114 members and guests attended this screening. The total number of responses was 64, giving a film score of 4.33 and a response rate of 56%.

All of your comments are collected below.

“Once we'd worked out that what we call a staff room in the UK is called a Teachers' Lounge in the USA... My wife Liz (a former teacher) and I came out of this film thinking "there but for the grace of God..." - you could label it a thriller, because it had us on the edge of our seats for much of the time, waiting for the next inevitable disastrous twist.  One of the reviews noted that it forced the viewer to see the situation through Carla's eyes, a young, new-to-the-school teacher, watching the situation deteriorate in front of her, often powerless to do anything to stop it.  All parties made bad decisions, in retrospect; even the initial searches would not be allowed in UK schools today in that way, although that might not stop them occurring. So issues of right and wrong, power struggles, racism, bullying and misuse of power were all encountered, making for a fascinating 100 minutes.  Sometimes you just wanted to throw things at the screen and scream NOoooooo!  But we marked it excellent.  Technically, the subtitles were always legible, and Leonie Benesch was excellent.  Oddly, we saw her the very next day in September 5, in which she was also excellent.  Should go far”.

“The film begins uncomfortably, especially because of its country of origin, with students being gently but forcefully coerced into informing on their classmates and one assumes this might become a lecture on human rights. Instead, it develops into something considerably more nuanced, interesting and confusing. Early on a theoretical maths problem is posed which suggests that the truth is a more mutable thing than one might have thought. The same is implied regarding ethics and morals in the rest of the film. No-one is entirely right or wrong though all, students included, are bending the rules with varying degrees of cynicism to their own advantage apart from Ms. Nowak who does appear to be trying to do the right thing. The whole remains uncomfortable throughout, largely through Benesh's anxious performance, the febrile score and a plot in which the moral maze becomes ever more convoluted and opaquer. Quite what is implied by the finale; Oskar solves the Rubik's Cube with ease and refuses to back down, I'm not sure, perhaps that he considers himself right, based on instinct, even if he is wrong and is uninterested in the moral point scoring. The film feels depressing and critical of the society it is viewing but everyone gets to state their point of view without too damaging consequences so how bad can that be? There are many people in the world who'd be delighted to do a little left/liberal hand wringing without having to pay a price”.

“Was quite hooked by the film's straightforward storyline, the rolling effect of Carla's wish to do the right thing (apparently logical according to her principles) showing her being pressured, pushed to her limits, then denounced by the faculty. This mirrors sharply with how Oscar is portrayed the bright deeply confused student who apparently creates his classmates' planned contempt of their teacher. She's almost demure in her disavowal of the other dubiously focused teachers, being decent enough to withstand the realpolitik of mass education and the compromises other teachers make. The direction builds up a well-defined microcosm of life in particular, and the film's neutral tone showing us that the only culprit is the system in which we live able to turning us against the other. I wondered if there are two endings, as the final sequence is clearly split into two parts, each having its own conclusion, with Oscar almost reified carried out by police in his seat. So, what happens next, eh?”

“A very tense and gripping film, given it was based on a relatively small incident and was almost exclusively filmed within the setting of the school. The lead actress was excellent as were the children. Another very good selection and, as I will miss the final screening, many thanks to the committee and volunteers for another thoroughly enjoyable season”.

“Unrelenting doom almost without any merit. Easily the worst film of the season”.

“We both thought the film excellent Mrs Novak created the problem from the start by doing a video of the theft but the school compounded matters in their handling. As a teacher one might have thought she should have acted differently and spoken to the headmaster first. But a great film we both thoroughly enjoyed”.

“Very well made with excellent acting. Such a very difficult set of problems – very challenging”.

“Stressful”. “Moving, thought provoking”. “Outstanding”.

“Ended at stalemate. Brilliantly shot film highlighting the dilemma of discipline at all levels. How do you deal with kids with no respect”.

“Very good but very stressful. I feel like I have to take an antacid after. It was so good at making you feel as stressed as the teacher”.

“Brilliant film!”

“Full of courage, insight and intelligence. Issues of integrity, loyalty, institutions and the disaster of good intentions. Brilliant performance from lead actress”.

“An amazing lesson in humanity. Loved Oscar, caried out like a victor. The solidarity of the kids was portrayed so well. But did Mrs Kuhn, do it???”

“A perfect teacher following rules and regulations, protocol. Issues of racism and democracy. An interesting film”.

“Gripping until the end which was disappointing”.

“Good film. Not sure I enjoyed it though”.

“Lead actor excellent. Ending was very sudden – no solution”.

“A powerful film, although the ending was a little unsatisfactory. Excellent lead role”.

“I’m exhausted! Glad I am not a teacher”.

“An inconclusive end”.

“Who would be a teacher? A gripping but a rather strange unsatisfactory ending for me. Good film”.

“Thought provoking”.

“Frustrating and unsatisfactory ending. Great acting. Would have failed an Ofsted safeguarding inspection”.

“Who stole the money?”

“Raised all sorts of issues. Great acting, especially by lead. Convincing situations”.

“I wouldn’t want to be a teacher”.

“Teachers’ Lounge??! It’s called a staff room. Very well acted – some horrendous missteps by school leadership”.

“Who dun it?”

“I found the background ‘music’ terribly intrusive and inappropriate. Excelelnt acting – especially the children. I would love to hear an opinion of a teacher!”

“Unsatisfactory ending. Sad for children and teacher. (who would be a teacher!)”

“Extremely well-acted but not how my German school worked. Found the procedures etc., almost not understandable”.

“A very uncomfortable film to watch. Stressful. Not enjoyable. I felt sorry for Oscar at the end. Everyone behaved so badly”.

“Great actors and actresses. Boring story – very poor ending”.