Das Lehrerzimmer

Leonie Benesch (she played Prince Phillip’s sister in The Crown) is absolutely riveting as Carla, an idealistic young teacher caught up in a moral quagmire when a series of thefts take place at her high-brow middle school. Director Ílker Çatak, who took home the German Film Awards prize for Best Film earlier this year, is careful to paint things in shades of grey—nothing is black and white here. Carla’s supremely confident façade begins to crumble as the realpolitik of the classroom, the indifference of her fellow teachers, and certain malevolent students take their toll…