Nominated for Best International Film at this year's Oscars "The Teacher's Lounge" is a genuinely disquieting thriller and one that is all the more chilling since it involves children. It begins with an investigation into a number of thefts at the school with a child the prime suspect, (he is also the child of immigrants), but the child's teacher, (a superb Leonie Benesch), has considerable reservations about the way the school authorities are conducting their investigations. As she pursues her own line of enquiry what she discovers makes her question where she stands in her relationships both with the students and her fellow staff members.
The fact that Ilker Catak's film only once, and then briefly, leaves the confines of the school adds to its claustrophobic effect and the heightening tension. What begins as perhaps a small problem becomes a powder keg about to explode. Here is a thriller filmed with an almost documentary-like zeal and it's brilliantly played by the entire cast, adult and child alike. It's definitely a movie to put knots in your stomach and yet one that is ultimately deeply moving. Hitchcock himself would be proud.
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