The Teachers' Lounge (2023)

The Teachers' Lounge (2023). 1h 38m | PG-13

“A special surrealism runs through the film because of the often radical behavior of the school towards the students. I often even had to think of Die Welle or 1984. In my opinion, the film fails to be a truly realistic study of the school environment.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film generally aims for a very realistic production, almost documentary-like, which also makes it possible to show a (mostly) believable relationship between teacher and student, but does not manage to realistically portray the teachers and how they interact with each other. The dialogue is mostly so stilted and feels so fake, and the behavior of individual teachers is so naive and simple-minded that it was very difficult for me to empathize with the individual characters and especially with the main character. I also asked myself whether one should actually find the main character likeable, should exactly the opposite be the case, or should she only move in gray areas. I found you to be mostly the former. In general, you donu0026#39;t learn anything at all about the characters, what they are like, what experiences they may have had with students before, and how these experiences have shaped them. But since the dialogues are so flat and most of the scenes donu0026#39;t have the intensity that the film probably assumes they have, it quickly became very tiring and I had to smile about many of the discussions between the teachers because I often didnu0026#39;t even notice them seriouscould take.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film definitely has its moments, especially in scenes that are left for a long time, which really have an impact. This very cold and oppressive atmosphere also worked very well. In some places the film also resembles a horror film (e.g. When the teachergoes to the school newspaper and is interviewed). Then, unfortunately, you are taken back by the unrealistic behavior of the – especially older – students, which seems extremely fake and you ask yourself, would students really talk to a teacher like that, would they even dare to have such a conversation?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd it is precisely this naive behavior and the lack of insight into the students and teachers that simply destroys the film for me, especially because this behavior leads to other key points later in the film and thus advances the story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn short, it definitely has its moments, builds a good atmosphere, is well acted, but ultimately itu0026#39;s too bold and too simple for me.”