Few places are more desolate than an elementary school on a Saturday. There, a group of parents meet the teacher of their children. SHE thinks they want to discuss their children's progress. THEY are set on having her fired. They are worried that their children might not make it to university otherwise, and they have all the other parents on their side. When the jolly, pudgy, middle-aged Miss Müller saunters into the room three minutes late, it looks like it's going to be a swift execution. But it turns out to be a long, drawn-out massacre, and mostly between the parents themselves.
The movie is based on a theatre play staged by the famous Grips theatre in Berlin; both the play and the movie were directed by Sönke Wortmann. He manages not to overegg the pudding and lets his cast shine. I particularly enjoyed the performances of Gabriela Schmeide (known from Doris Dörrie's Die Friseuse) as Miss Müller, and Justus von Dohnányi as a mettlesome father. On the other hand, the use of locations is pretty static and betrays the origins of the movie as a theatre play, but I was OK with that.
I really enjoyed this poignant comedy. You will enjoy the many little digs all the more if you work as a teacher, or if you have children in school
The movie is based on a theatre play staged by the famous Grips theatre in Berlin; both the play and the movie were directed by Sönke Wortmann. He manages not to overegg the pudding and lets his cast shine. I particularly enjoyed the performances of Gabriela Schmeide (known from Doris Dörrie's Die Friseuse) as Miss Müller, and Justus von Dohnányi as a mettlesome father. On the other hand, the use of locations is pretty static and betrays the origins of the movie as a theatre play, but I was OK with that.
I really enjoyed this poignant comedy. You will enjoy the many little digs all the more if you work as a teacher, or if you have children in school
