Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Ilker Çatak
Starring: Leonie Benesch, Michael Klammer, Rafael Stachowiak, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, Eva Löbau
Like Eric Gravel's recent Laure Calamy vehicle
Full Time, Ilker Çatak's The Teachers' Lounge is a drama
about the sort of trials and tribulations everyday people face every
day. No guns are produced and the most the protagonist has to lose is
their job, and yet it plays like a thriller. It's a movie in which the
heroine always tries to do the right thing, but by making quick
decisions and following her instinct she sometimes does the exact
opposite. Perhaps that's what makes it so relatable.
The film takes place exclusively within the walls of a German high
school. At the point the story begins, the school is suffering an
epidemic of petty theft. Following an intrusive search of pupils'
wallets (do kids really have wallets now, or is this just a German
thing?), a young Turkish boy becomes the chief suspect due to the large
amount of cash found in his wallet. When his parents are called in they
explain that they gave their son the money to buy a video game, and
they're rightly unhappy about the accusation of theft, implying racism
on the school's part.
New to the faculty is Maths and PE teacher Carla (a gripping
performance from Leonie Benesch), who is uncomfortable with the
manner in which her colleagues have been handling the investigation. As
Carla stands up for the rights of her pupils, some of her fellow
teachers imply a "whose side are you on?" mentality. Carla's Polish
heritage makes her aware of how easily she might be isolated from her
co-workers, and she insists that a fellow Polish-German teacher stop
speaking their ancestral tongue around their colleagues.
Carla decides to take the investigation into her hands. Leaving some
cash in a wallet in her jacket on the back of a chair, she sets her
laptop's camera to record and leaves the teachers' lounge. When she
returns she finds that some money has been taken from her wallet.
Checking the recording, Carla sees her laptop has captured the sleeve of
a distinctive white blouse with a flower pattern reaching into her
jacket pocket and taking the wallet before returning it minus a few
notes. The culprit's face isn't visible but Carla identifies the blouse
as that of the school's head secretary, Ms Kuhn (Eva Lobau).
Carla approaches Kuhn and tells her that if she returns the money and
quits her thievery she won't take the matter any further. The accusation
is vociferously denied by Kuhn, who maintains her innocence even when
Carla takes things to the headmistress, who shows her the video. Kuhn
storms out, along with her son Oskar (Leonard Stettnisch), who
happens to be the brightest pupil in Carla's Maths class.
What seems initially like a simple open and shut case quickly becomes
anything but. After some legal consultation Carla is found to have
breached rules by making a recording, which would be inadmissible in any
potential court scenario. Despite what seems like glaring evidence
against Kuhn, Carla begins to question whether she may have been wrong
in accusing her of the theft. Things are complicated further when Carla
sees the effect her accusation has on Oskar, who understandably refuses
to believe that his mother is a thief. Teachers will tell you that
officially they view all their pupils as equal, but unofficially they
have their favourites, those whose potential makes them stand out.
There's enough subtle evidence to suggest that Oskar is Carla's
favourite, not just for his smartness but because his status as an
outsider probably reminds Carla of her own struggles to fit in as a
child of immigrant parents. Hoping to prompt his interest in algorithms,
Carla gives the boy her old Rubik's cube.
That retro toy acts as something of an allegory for Carla's situation.
The object of completing that 1980s puzzle is to create order out of
chaos. As things begin to unravel for Carla, her life becomes a Rubik's
cube whose colours refuse to line up, becoming more chaotic with each
new strategy she pursues. Despite the gesture and the amicability shared
between the boy and his doting teacher, Oskar turns against Carla,
convincing his classmates to stand with him in a campaign of
disobedience. You can understand why Carla is drawn to Maths, as it
offers a certainty that's all too absent from the messiness and
unpredictability of life.
The Teachers' Lounge is an intensely nerve-wracking film
about what is surely one of today's most stressful occupations. It's
unlikely to convince too many viewers to take up teaching, as it
portrays the profession as akin to negotiating a never-ending minefield.
Carla finds herself fighting a war on three fronts, with her pupils,
their parents and her fellow teachers all turning against her. A
disastrous parent/teacher meeting is so harrowing to watch that you may
find yourself following Carla's actions when she flees the room for the
safety of a nearby bathroom. The Teachers' Lounge is the
sort of movie that will leave you with PTSD.
In the past there was always an unwritten covenant between parent and
teacher in which it was agreed that the latter was in charge of your
child once you dropped them off at the school gate, but this agreement
has been largely eroded in our increasingly narcissistic society with
its mistrust of experts. Any parents whose automatic instinct is to
second guess their children's teachers would do well to watch
The Teachers' Lounge and develop some empathy for a
profession that sadly no longer commands the respect it deserves.
The Teachers' Lounge is in UK/ROI cinemas from April 12th.
