77
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLike the remarkable films Eastern European countries turned out regularly during the Soviet era, it marries a character-driven story with social concerns, in this case a deft parable about the kind of corrupt privileged society nominally egalitarian Socialism created.
- 90VarietyAlissa SimonVarietyAlissa SimonAlthough dealing with weighty matters, Jarchovsky’s script (which is based on a real-life incident he experienced during primary school) is leavened with welcome humor and irony.... As usual, Hrebejk’s direction is smooth and the ensemble performances top-notch.
- 83IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichJan Hřebejk’s The Teacher is a sardonic, richly seriocomic morality play that uses a delicate touch to explore why communism never seems to work out in the long run.
- 80Screen DailyDan FainaruScreen DailyDan FainaruMaurery handles her character, a nasty piece of work to be sure, with such natural aplomb that she makes Mrs Drazdechova not only perfectly credible but pretty scary too.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijThe Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijThough somewhat slow out of the starting blocks, this finally caustic drama, set in early 1980s Bratislava (then in Czechoslovakia), accumulates power and insight as it builds over the course of a tense parents-teachers conference, punctuated with the necessary flashbacks.
- 70The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergMs. Maurery has great fun with the character, a tricky part because Maria nearly always maintains a kindhearted veneer, even at her most venal.
- 70Village VoiceAaron HillisVillage VoiceAaron HillisThe setup may be as unsubtle as a metaphoric morality lesson about Europe’s not-too-distant past, or perhaps it’s politically timeless; it’s not a far leap to also think about a certain someone’s insane need for backscratching loyalty within the White House.
- 50Slant MagazineDiego SemereneSlant MagazineDiego SemereneThere's a Tarkovskian layer of social despair in the web of corruption joining the child and the adult, the bedroom and the nation.