By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Maria Speth
Original language title: Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse
Country: germany
Year: 2022
Running time: 217
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14035048/reference/
Diane says: “German doc in the Wiseman style: no explanatory info or voiceovers, and over three-and-a-half hours long. Closely follows 20 or so kids (middle schoolish) and their teacher, who will be retiring at the end of the school year, from winter to spring. The students are almost all immigrants, learning German as a second or third language (plus English). The city, Stadtallendorf, is a magnet for guest workers from Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania.
“I haven’t been in an American classroom in eons, and imagine that the best American teachers face the same challenges with the same humor, affection, and attention to emotional struggles. But I don’t know if it’s Herr Bachmann’s own doing or the school’s that allows so much leeway—sending the class outside on their own to run off their excess energy, suggesting that tired kids take a nap on the classroom cot, forming a rock band for music breaks. He questions their beliefs and values in a nonjudgmental but persistent way.
“What the film doesn’t show is the home life struggles these kids may face—only as much as they want to reveal in the classroom. But with a teacher who is rigorous, honest, and empathetic, you can only hope that his wishes for them come true. He is a real advocate for them, with their parents, with their own sense of self.
“It seemed to me to be a flaw that the subtitles are in perfect English, and it finally dawned on me that the kids’ German skills are very varied. So many of them ended up with D’s in German.
“Captivating and not overlong for its content. I watched it in three installments. 4 cats. (On MUBI)”
Mr. Bachmann and His Class