The Teachers’ Lounge (2023) | agoodmovietowatch

A tense classroom thriller that doubles as an allegory about the frightening complexity of our modern world

The Teacher’s Lounge is one of those movies where a simple misunderstanding is blown out of proportion, so much so that it causes the fabric of a community to unravel into chaos. Aided by a precise score, it ticks like a timebomb, with every second filled with so much dread and anxiety you have to remind yourself to breathe. It’s an impeccable and taut thriller, but it also works as an allegory about modern-day surveillance and authority. Director İlker Çatak gives the Gen-Z students and their much older teachers a level field where they struggle for control, and the result is both bleak and funny. It’s often said that schools are a microcosm of the real world, but nowhere is that more apparent than here.

Synopsis

When one of her students is suspected of theft, teacher Carla Nowak decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her.

Storyline

Ms. Nowak (Leonie Benesch) tries her best to teach her sixth-grade class, but her attempts at democratic education are increasingly thwarted by the disturbance caused by a mysterious thief running amok in the school.

TLDR

If you’re a teacher who bought into the Dead Poet’s Society myth, consider this your rude awakening.

What stands out

Benesch’s doe eyes guide you through it all, but when they inevitably crack under pressure, so do you. Also, does anyone else see the resemblance Benesch and Daisy Edgar-Jones?