For her documentary film, director Maria Speth accompanied a school class for a long time. Anyone who watches the film gets an idea of what is sometimes lacking in the school system.
Berlin / Stadtallendorf – If you think back to your own school days, you should still have your class teacher in mind. Or other educators who either made life difficult for you or encouraged you.
The documentary “Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse”, which is coming to the cinema after the Berlinale, tells of this special relationship. And in the end it makes you question some things in the school system.
A classroom in Stadtallendorf, Hessen. The pupils are at the age at which the first start flirting and there is great uncertainty about everything. In the middle of it sits Dieter Bachmann – a guy with a beard, a hat and a guitar. He likes to take out the guitar when either the children or he himself are no longer interested in lessons.
The Berlin director Maria Speth (“9 Lives”) has collected a lot of film material. That left three and a half hours of documentary film. That sounds long at first, but it doesn’t feel like it. Instead of a series on Netflix, you dive into the different characters of the school class.
He was alienated with the profession
On the one hand, of course, there is Mr. Bachmann. At some point you find out about the teaching profession, but for a long time he couldn’t get used to it. School as an institution “somehow alienated him to this day,” he says at one point in the film. He could not have imagined that he would “not fly out on edge again”.
Bachmann is a guy who makes an announcement from time to time. For example, when some of them chatter when they come into the classroom, he sends everyone out again: “Second try!” But Bachmann is also a teacher who listens and looks. He and his colleagues treat the class with interest and appreciation. They tackle everyday problems and big questions.
For example, when Bachmann asks the budding teenagers how they actually imagine their dream partner. “Should she cook your food for you or do you cook her food?” Or when a colleague discusses with the children what home is when the parents come from Morocco, Bulgaria or Turkey.
Math and feelings
Speth’s film shows a lesson that is about math and English. But also about interpersonal learning, about solving conflicts, about mutual understanding and getting to know one’s own feelings.
The film cuts scene after scene without additional commentary. And he also negotiates German history and its effects – such as the role of the city in National Socialism or the time of guest workers.
Silver Bear at the Berlinale
The documentary not only won an audience award at the Berlinale, but also the Silver Bear “Jury Prize”. It shows how much nuances and affinity are important in relationships. That takes time and space. But how much time is left for interpersonal relationships and feelings, for experiments and trying things out, when the curriculum is full? And what is the purpose of our school system actually?
You can discuss this well after going to the cinema. At one point Bachmann speaks of perceiving and noticing that someone is there. It’s about a story that needs to be interpreted. Basically, however, his lessons seem to be about exactly that – about perceiving and noticing that someone is there.
Mr. Bachmann and his class, Germany 2021, 217 minutes, FSK from 0 years, by Maria Speth, with Dieter Bachmann, Aynur Bal, Önder Cavdar and students dpa
