There's a spate of petty thefts going on in her junior school, so after a rather dubiously executed class search fails to deliver a culprit, the enthusiastic and maybe a little naive teacher "Miss Novak" (Leonie Benesch) sets a video trap to see if she can identify the culprit. She does, potentially, identify someone going through her pockets and headmaster "Böhm" (Anne-Katrin Gummich) now tries to deal with a scenario that rapidly spirals out of control and reveals an increasing degree of toxicity for not just this teacher, but for relationships at all levels throughout the school - as well as a fairly counter-productive environment of red-tape. We are soon facing a stand-off situation that borders on the criminal with some surprisingly potent battle lines soon drawn both inside and outside of the teacher's lounge. I had credibility issues with what happens now. It's not that the drama isn't well acted and tautly directed, indeed the young Leonard Stettnisch's portrayal of her student-cum-antagonist "Oskar" is really effective. It is just that too much of what occurs struck me as preposterous. Any procedures in place to protect teachers and pupils seems to gave been chucked under the dramatic bus and the absence of police or qualified investigative authorities here just didn't ring true as we made our way to a denouement that I felt rather underwhelmed. It's gripping, and well worth a watch - but plausible? Hmmm, I'm not so sure.
Review of The Teachers' Lounge
