Directed by: Ilker Catak
Written by: Ilker Catak and Johannes Duncker
Starring: Leonie Benesch, Eva Lobau, Michael Klammer, Anne-Kathrin Gummich, and Leonard Stettnisch
Runtime: 98 minutes
The Oscar-nominated ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ is more than a textbook whodunit
A crime has been committed.
Actually, a series of them.
An unknown thief or thieves have recently struck an institution, and after the latest larceny, an improvised inquiry is instigated.
This establishment, however, is not a bank or widget manufacturer.
It’s a German middle school set in a middle-class or upper-middle-class neighborhood, and the principal, Dr. Bettina Bohm (Anne-Kathrin Gummich), begins a makeshift investigation, including searching the children’s wallets to find the most recent culprit who possibly stole a menial sum of cash.
A new, young, idealistic, and quite popular teacher, Carla (Leonie Benesch), isn’t pleased with this rights violation. Still, when suspicions later rise that the perpetrators have access to the teachers’ lounge, Carla – in an impulsive moment – sets up her laptop’s camera to secretly film inside the sacred schoolteacher sanctuary. However, she inadvertently triggers further turmoil that erupts into the established order of instructor-student harmony…or at least a perceived coherence.
Director/co-writer Ilker Catak’s masterful “The Teachers’ Lounge” – nominated for a 2024 International Feature Film Oscar – leans into and then topples the supposedly robust relationships between parents, students, and educators and then squares his notice on Carla as the chief target and scapegoat of a flawed system and her unfortunate action, one that escalates into an unstable predicament. Benesch (“The White Ribbon” (2009), “Persian Lessons” (2020)) is outstanding here, and her performance has been widely overlooked during award season.
Benesch’s Carla is resolute and resilient, but even this dedicated, strong-willed optimist isn’t immune to enormous pressure from seemingly all sides, including rage from a parent (Eva Lobau) and a child (Leonard Stettnisch), scrutiny from her peers, and collective judgment from the students. Our heroine is composed and professional, but Catak and cinematographer Judith Kaufmann grab their camera and relentlessly follow Carla in the hallways and in and out of classrooms that are filled with emotional minefields. Catak’s frequent close-ups zero in on the tension written all over Carla’s face, and during a September 2023 Toronto International Film Festival screening and Q&A, Ilker calls out that Benesch has a remarkable ability to turn red on command.
With good reason, Carla sees red with anger, embarrassment, and frustration as the movie sharply contrasts her universal admiration before the laptop instance and the ridicule afterward. Attitudes from fellow teachers transform in subtle and obvious fashions through one-on-one discourse, and a collective effort from the student school newspaper becomes downright frightening with an incremental descent into a disapproving frame.
No, “The Teachers’ Lounge” doesn’t resort to “Children of the Corn” (1984) physical tactics (mostly), but a schoolhouse brood shifting into a singularly focused, silent mob mentality will chill your soul, especially as Carla and we simultaneously realize the traps that have been set.
Catak’s film feels like a claustrophobic, tick-tock thriller that Alfred Hitchcock would endorse, one accompanied by Marvin Miller’s nerve-racking score. “Lounge” – which also triples as an ethical-debate narrative and whodunit – zips by with its thrifty 98-minute runtime, and before you know it, the last bell rings, and the end credits roll.
Set down your pens, pencils, or chalk and applaud.
Jeff’s ranking
3.5/4 stars
