THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE Movie Review | Leonie Benesch | Sony Pictures Classics

We're playing catch-up with several international films this week, starting with "The Teachers' Lounge" from Germany, which has been shortlisted for the Academy Awards. The brilliant Leonie Benesch stars as an engaging and idealistic young teacher who has a knack for connecting with her tween students. When a series of thefts break out on campus, she makes a decision she thinks is the right one, but it has unexpected consequences. The film from director and co-writer Ilker Çatak is tense, sharply written and beautifully acted. In theaters now.
#theteacherslounge #leoniebenesch #sonypicturesclassics
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[@tccandler]

THIS is why I love this channel... More like this please! Can't wait to see The Teachers' Lounge.

[@Celestialrob]

As you know, I'm so happy you've covered this. NO SPOILERS HERE. I have this in my top 10 of the year (I've seen 250) and we loved it. My partner Elizabeth was a school principal and assures me that it's remarkably accurate in its portrayal. We both found this completely riveting. Love, love, love this movie. Thanks C&A. Psyched for Fallen Leaves. Would love to hear your thoughts on Society of the Snow. Byeeee

[@justinharrison1987]

I had no problem with the ending. The only thing I didn't like was the sequence with the multiple blouses, since the rest of the movie was realism and subtlety. Leonie Benesch was perfect and -- from the 150 or so movies I saw in theaters in 2023 -- I believe that was the best overall performance.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

She's so subtle, isn't she?

[@carolinehirst4921]

@@BreakfastAllDay She was great in Around the World in 80 Days as well with David Tennant.

[@papayacatproductions]

The trailer for this film played before Boy and the Heron and they showed so little of any consequence from the movie that everyone in the theater was like "Uh, okay? So? What happens in the dang movie!" So glad I now have a good sense of why they marketed it that way. Can't wait to see it.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

We tried not to give anything away!

[@irmaperez2869]

Wow thank you for commenting on this movie, it just arrived to my country and I was shocked by the ending, as a teacher I can say it’s such a horrifying experience, so it was an accurate portrait of a terrifying situation inside a classroom

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Sorry to hear it was such an accurate portrayal of what you've experienced! But glad you saw it.

[@cine_caro]

Very suspenseful movie that is definitely anti-Dead Poets Society. It’s a confounding, ambiguous angry movie but it is the point. It’s anxiety-inducing. Don’t love the ending. It prevented it from being great instead of very good. It deserves to be one of the five to be nominated for Best International Feature. But, also please see Society of the Snow.

[@MattB0610]

This is exactly why I like to watch you two. I had not heard of this movie at all, and now it sounds like something I must absolutely see. Thank you for what you do!

[@LouIs-zz3xv]

A completely riveting movie. The tension winds tighter, tighter, and tighter. The film is mesmerizing. A the lead actress does a fantastic job.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

So glad you saw it, and yes she is incredible!

[@pb.j.1753]

I am so happy you finally covered this film. Thank you!!!!! It's a brilliant film and Leonie Benesch should have been in the awards conversation.

[@commandZee]

Wow, I can't wait to see this. It sounds like _Force Majeure_ meets _Anatomy of a Fall_ at a middle school.

[@musicmann1967]

I only had a vague knowledge of this movie being out there. But, from your description, I'm eager to see it now!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Yes, please do Larry!

[@user-ip3fy1to2z]

Have just booked it. Sounds good.

[@strgaza]

Well, I am from Greece and it's the first time I've written a comment, so hello to me :) Being a teacher myself I have thoroughly enjoyed the teacher-student dynamic and how the road to hell is paved with good intentions .It graphically shows that even though some people are employed to teach students how to choose the "right path", accept responsibility and act like mature individuals, they themselves end up being more childish than the students they teach. It's basically a nail-biting thriller (minus the blood and jump scares) but with great pacing and morally questionable decisions that keep you at the edge of your seat, throughout. This will also make a great play and was probably a great book, I'm just too lazy to google it :) .The character evolution, constant guessing as to what is coming and yourself thinking : "Why do I find myself genuinely liking and, simultaneously, subtly loathing the main character?" are only some of the MANY reasons why you should watch, along with the note-perfect performance of the leading actress. Highly recommended, it's in my top 3 films of last year

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Hello to you in Greece! Thanks for joining us and sharing your thoughts.

[@m_c5169]

Possible spoliers Alert --- Absolutely. The teachers practically handed over authority and common sense to the students and allowed the incident to be blown out of proportion. That is why schools have a set of protocols. To have a broad group of administrators and trained staff available to take these problems away from the classroom and involve authorities instead of trying to solve the injustices of the world based on half-cooked ideas. The teachers were not great mentors.

[@Celestialrob]

As I reflect on this movie I can't stop thinking about Mads Mikkelsen's wonderful "The Hunt" from 2012.

[@emptylikebox]

the hunt and that french film "the class".

[@megamoviez]

I saw this in October as the closing night film of the Virginia Film Festival and it was incredible! I’m so happy y’all are reviewing this!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Oh amazing!

[@sharonhanscom3092]

So grateful you reviewed this. I've been waiting for its arrival here in the U.S.

[@thefilmseeker]

Sounds very Farhadi-esque... Gonna have to bump this up even higher in the queue.

[@marcosmadeiros9553]

As a teacher myself, I’m can’t wait to see this movie. Great review!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Yes, please share your insights!

[@lynnturman8157]

Thanks for the review. This just went to the top of my list of movies to see.

[@MuhammadAhmad-oj6mf]

I'm glad you guys watched it, it was one of my favorite movies of the last year. The ending is hilarious 😂

[@bev9708]

Oooohh that sounds GREAT!!! I'm thrilled to see it will come out here in France on Feb 7, I was a bit worried I'd missed it as we usually get German films way before you there in the US.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Yes, let us know what you think!

[@DavidN369]

"Kafka's 'Abbott Elementary'" told me all I need to know. Am. So. There. Thanks as always, Christy & Alonso. Woohoo, hoorah, hopla.

[@OldBluesChapterandVerse]

Have you two missed your window to review Society of the Snow? I’m sure loads of us would love to hear your takes on it.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

We can do it whenever we'd like! We talked about reviewing it today.

[@OldBluesChapterandVerse]

@@BreakfastAllDay It’s so damn good.

[@danielartist123]

Excited to see this film! Thanks for reviewing!

[@HitorMissHallmark]

So happy to see this being reviewed. It's in my Watchlist on Letterboxed since TIFF. I hope I get to see it soon! Sounds very intriguing!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Great, we hope so too!

[@brianng8350]

Wow, high praises. But I might have missed the window to see this in the theaters. I will have to check if any of them are still playing this limited engagement.

[@ultraklebestift]

This debuted at the Berlin Film Festival last year and it was my favourite film there. Highly recommend it.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Wonderful! Glad you saw it.

[@NathanielAhart]

Wow, I was excited to see it before this review, but now I can't wait! Also, Monster is phenomenal, maybe my favorite Kore-eda film that I have seen! :)

[@BobSullivanAKABuffy]

Saw it as my Bargain Tuesday option yesterday at the Landmark. Totally went in thinking something else was what instigated the 'action'. Do you think you'll do a spoiler recap? It had one of the better sized audiences for a teeny movie I'd seen there in a while.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Hmm, maybe! We do want to get into what we think really happened.

[@tlovehater]

I liked this but didn't love it, and I wanted to love it! Beanie was very good.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

It's such a subtle performance, and it requires us to be on her side and then maybe ... not be on her side.

[@tlovehater]

@@BreakfastAllDay Understated!

[@carolinehirst4921]

@@BreakfastAllDay I think everybody forgets she did illegally video people which is a total no no.

[@ibrahimkonuk-is3lj]

Very intelligent review. I like it a lot. However I would like to point out one thread in the movie which seems to escape most viewers. I think writers did not seem to decide; on one hand a desire to create no heroes but on the other hand they have this thread that makes Oscar a really gifted kid. Unfortunately they do not explore the impact of it much. They have two scenes; first the proof of .9999.. being equal to 1. Then the algorithm for solving. 3 sided rubics cube. They are too brief to be noticed and they are I believe too advanced for 12 year old kids unless we are dealing with a really gifted group of kids. Nevertheless it is a wonderful movie.

[@m_c5169]

An incident that is handled with immature idealism can spiral out of control. Oh School. That is why they dwell on a good set of protocols..... This film offers a microcosm of the world and may leave you feeling quite emotionally cold.

[@thisisevan1]

Yeahhhhhhhh I got the movie. I even enjoyed the movie. But that ending was flat as flat can be. One person (not me) in my screening audibly exclaimed, "That's it?"

[@carolinehirst4921]

It showed the student was taken away by the Police. I presume he had to move schools. You never know regarding the stealing and whether the mum was actually guilty.

[@kellybrincks]

I can't wait to see this

[@tomharris5169]

Superb movie

[@carolinehirst4921]

It was and she was exceptional.

[@leonardo899]

I have a master's degree in Education and I no longer work as a teacher, it's not worth it, anything you say, do, or don't do is going to offend some student, and you always end up in trouble. What surprises me about this movie is that a female teacher can get in trouble because of a student or students who got offended. In Mexico, if a male teacher says or does anything that makes a student feel humiliated, it is considered violence. But a female teacher can humiliate a student in many ways; whether with comments, accusations or shouting, but female teachers are not accused of violence for humiliating a student. I don't know Germany, but I like the idea that a female teacher can get in trouble just as much as a male teacher for making a student feel offended.

[@erdbeermund78]

I don't think I got the ending either. I liked it but wasn't sure what the point ultimately was or what I was supposed to make of the ending. As much as I enjoyed this movie, I'm surprised to say it's not in my top five of the short listed international films just because there are so many good ones.

[@erdbeermund78]

For what it's worth, of the 13 shortlisted films I've seen so far, my top five are: 20 Days in Mariupol, The Zone of Interest, The Monk and the Gun, The Society of Snow, and The Taste of Things. It kind of blows me away that for me this movie is at 8th place, following also Perfect Days and Four Daughters. Speaking of the shortlist, I'm a little annoyed that Housekeeping for Beginners didn't make the short list. It's awesome that it seems to be getting a pretty healthy release though from focus features or something. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about that if you get a chance to see it.

[@carolinehirst4921]

@@erdbeermund78 20 Days in Mariupol is harrowing but you have to watch it and Zone of Interest is what you don't see is far more powerful. The hints in the background say it all.

[@carolinehirst4921]

There were consequences to actions. It didn't resolve all of the story though.

[@CaroleMcDonnell]

Thanks! Off to netflix movie request

[@AllInTheGame01]

Will y'all be reviewing another Oscar Nominee in The Taste of Things?

[@BreakfastAllDay]

We can try! Hasn't been nominated yet, though. Those come out next Tuesday.

[@AllInTheGame01]

@@BreakfastAllDay 👍

[@dojobuff6795]

Still waiting for your review of Close.

[@jasoncarrick5461]

I hate having to read my movies, 2 nines though, sounds interesting.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Give it a shot!

[@jasoncarrick5461]

@@BreakfastAllDay Yes ma'am ...lol

[@angelthman1659]

How about a review of Society of the Snow? It's an important film that made the International shortlist and is one of the front-runners for a nod.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Yes, probably next week!

[@angelthman1659]

Thank you! @@BreakfastAllDay

[@glr]

I totally agree that the ending wasn't very good. The entire movie wasn't very good. It's too heavily dependent on German rules culture which is laughable and obviously naive from an outside perspective. 5.8/10.0

[@nederlanditism1154]

Totally bollocks. It's a story inspired by an experience at a school in Turkey! All of the first five minutes is impossible, and the shown procedures are a breach of legislation in Germany. The scenes in class have no, not even by far, resemblence with what lessons nowadays are like.

[@forallthestupidshit3550]

Sounds like a good one. Thanks!