Category Archives: School Teacher

2008, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Ethical struggles, Family Conflict, Fascists, German, German History, Instructive, Psychological Drama, School Teacher, Suspense, Teenagers, Thought provoking

The Wave (2008)

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From IMDB:

A high school teacher’s experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own.

From Netflix I could get the DVD for this German film whose German title is “Die Welle”. There are English subtitles available.

Jürgen Vogel, who plays the teacher Rainer Wenger, is well-known in Germany. Rainer must lead a classroom of students through a project called “Autocracy”.  He begins innocently to have the students experiment with disciplined unity: they decide to all wear white shirts to school instead of sloppy casual clothing; they adopt a hand signal that mimics a wave in the ocean; they create a logo for the group which they then stencil all over the town, to the point of vandalism; they militate against anyone who is not in the group. Finally the project snowballs out of control with some disastrous results.

In our current sad era of Donald Trumpet, the film teaches a worthwhile lesson in the rise of Fascism.

2005, Abduction, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alzheimer's disease, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Clever Plot, Corruption, Crime, Dark, Depression, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drug Dealers, Father-daughter relations, Forensics, Gay theme, Interest in dogs, Kidnapping, Lesbian Theme, Made For TV, Marital Infidelity, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Police Corruption, Revenge, School Teacher, Sex Scenes, Suicide, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Teenagers, Tragedy, Violent, Well developed plot

Swedish Wallander (2005-2012)

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From Netflix:

Detective Kurt Wallander is an intense, headstrong maverick who’s prone to eating poorly, sleeping irregularly and drinking too much. Wallander relies on instinct and experience and doesn’t shy away from using illegal means to solve crimes.

Kathy and I have just finished stream-bingeing on all the Swedish Wallander episodes of which there are many. Cable TV gets worse each day and we were grateful to have something well-written, well-acted, and gripping to watch in the evening. Thank you, Netflix. “Gripping” is an important keyword (picture Kathy leaving the room during violent encounters).

To be precise about numbers of episodes:

Season 1 comprises 13 episodes.
Season 2 comprises 13 episodes.
Season 3 comprises 6 episodes.

Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander is a dedicated (even better – obsessed) detective whose personal life is one of drinking, loneliness, and coldness to his family. In other words, he is a mess. To his credit, the Swedish actor Krister Henriksson portrays such a man to perfection. However, as in often the case in such types of TV series, as much time is spent exploring his relations with others as in solving murder cases. For example, “Dicta“, which I have strongly recommended is cast in the same mold.

Quite a bit of camera footage is devoted to leisurely scanning the Swedish landscape and waterways. Wallander and his beloved dog Jussi take many walks on the beach outside his house.

During the course of the three seasons, characters come and go, never to be seen again.

Season 3 ends tragically. But I will not say more because that would be a spoiler. If you want to know what I mean, then send me email.

Once again, if you enjoy intense detective procedurals DO NOT MISS either “Dicta” or “Wallander”.

Be aware that there is also the Kenneth Branagh “Wallander” English series from Masterpiece Mystery.

2013, Abduction, Acceptable Trash, Action Film, Action Hero, Addiction, B-movie, Boxing, Bullying, Car Chase, Crude Talk, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Dysfunctional Lives, Gangs, Mayhem, Mixed Martial Arts, Motorcycles, Revenge, Sad small town, School Teacher, Suspense, Violent, Vulgar

Homefront (2013)

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From Netflix:

When ex-DEA agent Phil Broker is widowed, he moves with his 10-year-old daughter to a small town in pursuit of a quiet life, but he finds his dream destroyed by a murderous drug trafficker, Gator, and his gang of meth-making thugs.

Once again you have already seen this film with many other names. Jason Statham films are all more or less the same: really nasty bad people trying to kill really good (albeit a bit violent) people like our hero Jason and his 10-year old daughter.

Laugh all you want: I was once again glued to my seat. Does Jason Statham use a double? He sure can fist fight and shoot guns and do kick boxing and do somersaults and withstand water boarding (which according to President Cheney is NOT torture). What a hero!

There has to be a reason what these films are so popular. Putting snobbery aside, they are CONSISTENT. Story line manages to insert human interest, acting is reasonably good, car chases well filmed. Plant a radish, get a radish. You know what you are getting when you invest precious time in a Jason Statham film.

One of my many guilty pleasures.

2013, B-movie, Comedy, Corny, Feel Good Not For Children, Imperfect, Melodrama, Optimistic, School Teacher, Sex Scenes, Teenagers

The English Teacher (2013)

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From Netflix:

Devoted small-town English teacher Linda yearns for love. Enter Jason, a former student whose career as a Broadway playwright didn’t pan out. When she persuades him to stage his play at the school before giving up, love — and controversy — arises.

Nathan Lane, Julianne Moore, and Greg Kinnear join forces to give us a film which is both a comedy and a somewhat corny melodrama. Thank goodness for the surprising belly-laughs. Although you might give this film a B+, there are some interesting plot turns. Moreover, the events are all too possible (“What! A high school teacher having inappropriate sex! Impossible!”) . Several of the principle characters do have some bad moments, some soul searching, and experience some happy changes.

However, that high school play seemed too lame for the audience to be so excited. But then parents can appreciate just about anything positive.

Since I am not really raving about this film, I feel I can offer a small spoiler: there is a happy ending.

2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, Acceptable for children, Acceptable Science, Asperger's Syndrome, British, Could Be Sad, DO NOT MISS, Dog Story, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Feel Good For All, Love Story, Made For TV, School Teacher, Small British village, Small Town

Doc Martin (2004)

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From NetFlix:

Crippled by a sudden and inconvenient fear of blood, flashy surgeon Dr. Martin Ellingham abandons his bustling London practice and sets up shop as a country doctor in this medically minded British sitcom.

Are you looking for a warm, friendly, non-violent, comic, personal British sitcom? Look no further. Beginning in 2004 and extending over 5 years of wonderful episodes, you can relax and enjoy “Doc Martin”.

Doc Martin (played by Martin Clunes) is a very unusual character. For starters he is a family doctor who is sickened by the sight of blood (he looks away when he draws a blood sample). Most importantly he is completely hopeless in any social situation. My guess is that he is supposed to suffer from Asperger’s syndrome. Nowadays we would say that he “doesn’t have a clue”.

He has set up practice in a charming, small, British village on the sea. He is a brilliant diagnostician and much of each episode has him helping people in his impossibly brusque manner. In fact, part of the comedy in the series is his reaction (or non-reaction) to everyone, including his patients.

Do not misunderstand: the stories are not pablum. Some of the situations are harrowing. For example, we see his icy mother just once when she visits and explains that she never loved him because he “got in the way”. Along the way we see villagers afflicted with OCD, vertigo, psychosis, etc. Nonetheless the “cringe” factor is very low compared to today’s British TV plots.

All 5 seasons are available on DVD. NetFlix offers DVD or streaming for all the episodes.

In the area of family sitcoms I would rate this series a DO NOT MISS!

2011, Acceptable for children, Basically Sad, Child Molestation, DO NOT MISS, French, Quiet, School Teacher, Suicide, Wonderful acting

Monsieur Lazhar (2011)

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From NetFlix:

When an Algerian immigrant seeking asylum in Montreal takes a position replacing an elementary school professor who committed suicide, he finds that his own secret, tragic background enables him to help the children with their loss.

As far as I am concerned, the major theme of this story is the cold adult-student separation enforced by teachers’ fear of being accused of something. You CANNOT hug a child student.

As you watch this quiet, thoughtful, well-acted film you will come to understand how this theme relates to the young woman who committed suicide and to the guilt felt by certain students.

Somewhat secondary as a theme is that life is just not fair. You must see the entire film to understand why I say that. This is NOT a feel-good film.

Relax as you watch this film in French with optional English subtitles. Nothing terrible happens. Expect to be charmed by the students’ interaction with Monsieur Lazhar and saddened by certain turn of events. Expect a wonderful, warm film.

Do Not Miss!