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The Teacher
September 22, 2017 @ 7:00 PM - October 8, 2017 @ 7:45 PM
Want to get good grades in school? How about cleaning the teacher’s apartment? Or stopping by the grocery store — dropping off some fresh produce might get you an A+.
The Teacher is a fictional film based on true events. In a middle school classroom in Czechoslovakia in 1983, it slowly becomes clear that the grades will be based on how willing pupils and their parents are to helping the teacher out with her errands. The teacher in this case is also a high ranking official of the Communist Party; parents are reluctant to stand up to her. She blackmails one kid into picking up her groceries, and hints at terrible consequences for another if his widower father won’t reciprocate her advances.
Director Jan Hřebejk (some of you saw his Oscar-nominated, Divided We Fall) pulls off a neat trick; The Teacher is at once a clever dark comedy and a gripping thriller. Petr Jarchovský based his screenplay on his own middle school experiences.
Slovakia / 102 min / WATCH THE TRAILER
The Teacher is funded in part by The Russian and East European Institute as well as the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures
Teachers teach, but that’s not all. For students they’re dictators of classroom time and space, for parents they’re gatekeepers who determine their child’s future. Add a provocative twist to this eternal dynamic and the result is the exceptional “The Teacher.”The filmmakers, who not surprisingly say they were partially inspired by the American classic “12 Angry Men,” play this string out with great skill, right down to a pitch-perfect finale. “The Teacher” does have a lesson to impart, but it does so in a wonderfully entertaining way. –LA Times
Brilliant! The latest film from “Divided We Fall” director Jan Hřebejk tackles Czech history in a way that the whole world should watch. Effectively transposing “12 Angry Men” into the most intense PTA meeting of all time, Jan Hřebejk’s “The Teacher” is a sardonic, richly seriocomic morality play. Loosely inspired by true events, this crowd-pleasing standout leverages its hyper-specific setting to convey a universal story of fear and power. It’s a lot more fun than it sounds. –Indiewire
Fri Sept 29
The Teacher 7:30 @ IU Fine Arts Upstairs
School Life 8pm @ IU Fine Arts Downstairs
Sat, Sept 30
The Teacher 7:30 @ IU Fine Arts Upstairs
School Life 8pm @ IU Woodburn Hall Theater
Sun, Oct 1
School Life 7:00 @ Bear’s Place
Fri and Sat, Oct 6 and 7
Manifesto 6:45 @ IU Global and International Studies Theater
School Life 7:30 @ IU Fine Arts Downstairs
The Teacher 8:15 @ IU Fine Arts Upstairs
Sun, Oct 8
School Life 5:15 @ Bear’s Place
The Teacher 7:45 @ Bear’s Place – Last Chance!