Herr Bachmann og klassen hans
A classroom as a world in miniature
The classroom as a world in miniature.
Dieter Bachmann is an unconventional and charismatic teacher at a school in a small German town. His students come from different cultural backgrounds and have different opinions and attitudes. Bachmann uses these differences to inspire the young people and spark their curiosity.
Maria Speth’s observational documentary may bring Frederick Wiseman’s films to mind, but Speth is more interested in individuals and the relationships between them than Wiseman is. Herr Bachmann og klassen hans shows that education matters—not only because students learn what is in the curriculum, but also because they learn to understand one another. Rarely has teaching been depicted more compellingly on film. Three hours and forty-five minutes may at first seem like a long time to devote to a documentary about everyday life, without any particularly major events. But once you get used to the rhythm of the class and the brief glimpses of the small industrial town where the school is located, the hours fly by.
