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Movies / On DVD / The Country Teacher
The Country Teacher

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The Country Teacher (2009)

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Reviews Counted:22

Fresh:18

Rotten:4

Average Rating:6.7/10

Consensus: Bohdan Slama's stunningly filmed dramedy is loaded with full-bodied characters and quietly sincere performances.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Mar 27, 2009 Limited

Synopsis: A gifted and well-qualified young teacher takes a job teaching natural sciences at a grammar school in the country. Here he makes the acquaintance of a woman and her troubled 17-year old son. The... A gifted and well-qualified young teacher takes a job teaching natural sciences at a grammar school in the country. Here he makes the acquaintance of a woman and her troubled 17-year old son. The teacher has no romantic interest in the woman but they quickly form a strong friendship, each recognizing the other’s uncertainties, hopes and longing for love. When the teacher's ex-boyfriend comes to visit from the city, he quickly realizes that nobody in the village knows that the teacher is gay and harbors a secret affection for the teenage boy. His jealous actions set in motion a series of events that will test the inner strength and compassion of the teacher, the woman and her son to a breaking point.

The Country Teacher is Czech director Bohdan Sláma’s (Wild Bees / Something Like Happiness—also distributed by Film Movement) most recent film.

A beautifully shot, powerfully acted, profoundly moving story of desire, responsibility, forgiveness and the need to belong, Sláma sought to tell a universal story that would resonate with audiences around the world. He explains that, “Looking for love is a never-ending battle which defines and forms man, an essence within every story, and unrequited love hurts no matter where you live, whatever your geographical location, it hurts the same everywhere.” The Country Teacher explores this universal theme and unravels the many issues at stake in romantic, platonic and self love. --© Film Movement [More]

Starring: Pavel Liska, Zuzana Bydžovska, Ladislav eedivy, Marek Daniel

Starring: Pavel Liska, Zuzana Bydžovska, Ladislav eedivy, Marek Daniel, Tereza VoriUkova, MiloU CernouUek, Zuzana Kronerova, Miroslav Krobot, Zdena Kucerova

Director: Bohdan Slama

Director: Bohdan Slama
Producer: Pavel Strnad, Petr Oukropec, Karl Baumgartner, Thanassis Karathanos
Composer: Vladimir Godar
Studio: Film Movement

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Release:

Sep 8, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - Czech
  • Subtitles - English
 
 
 
 

Reviews for The Country Teacher

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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
tomato
3/5

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 22 2009 03:15 AM

Film Threat

tomato
7/10

Sarah Boslaugh

The actors are interesting rather than glamorous, their acting style consistently low-key, and their triumphs and failures realized on a human rather than grandiose scale.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 22 2009 07:29 AM

Playback:stl

tomato
3.5/4

Calvin Wilson

It's the kind of film that Hollywood used to excel at but no longer seems interested in making.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 19 2009 02:38 PM

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

tomato

Boyd van Hoeij

This small, contemporary Czech marvel showcases two bright talents and a sentiment not seen often enough on screen nowadays: sincerity.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 14 2009 04:51 AM

european-films.net

tomato
3.5/4

Michael Upchurch

The film boasts subtle performances and curious situations with unpredictable outcomes.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 23 2009 05:37 PM

Seattle Times

tomato
3/4

Mike Scott

A meaningful though patient drama built upon beautiful shots, a gentle humor and a great performance from Pavel Liska.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 17 2009 03:10 PM

Times-Picayune

tomato
3/4

David Wiegand

The film is graced with lovely performances by Pavel Liska as the teacher, Zuzana Bydzovska as Marie and Ladislav Sedivy as the boy.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 10 2009 03:15 AM

San Francisco Chronicle

tomato
3/4

Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)

Teacher is a comedy-drama that feels real and humane and keeps finding ways to surprise us because its characters are as complicated as real people tend to be.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 26 2009 09:59 AM

St. Paul Pioneer Press

tomato

Despite all the pain and self-loathing of its wounded characters, it's a pretty, heartwarming picture that tells us everybody needs somebody to help shatter that ol' boulder for good.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 26 2009 08:56 AM

Washington Post

tomato
B

Fr. Chris Carpenter

Sometimes predictable, but it takes a number of surprising turns.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 04 2009 06:54 PM

Orange County and Long Beach Blade

tomato
2.5/4

Mark Feeney

Liska, who looks like a Central European version of the young Harvey Keitel, has a kind of pitch-perfect opacity.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 21 2009 03:02 PM

Boston Globe

tomato
3/4

Steve Ramos

The stunning pastoral setting at the core of The Country Teacher provides a sly backdrop for the troubled triangle at the heart of the heartfelt drama Czech writer-director Bohdan Sláma.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 16 2009 05:00 PM

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

tomato

Andrew O'Hehir

It's a movie that demonstrates, if you'll pardon the sports metaphor, how deep the bench is in Eastern European film.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 03 2009 11:11 AM

Salon.com

splat
5.25/10

Avi Offer

Has exquisite cinematography and occasional moments of tenderness, but its characters never truly come to life and its uneven screenplay doesn't fully explore their human struggles convincingly and sensitively enough to be make it an emotionally resonatin

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 28 2009 10:44 PM

NYC Movie Guru

tomato
3/4

V.A. Musetto

Directed by Bohdan Sláma, it deals with weighty issues -- loneliness, sexual identity, love (straight and gay) -- in a quiet, intelligent fashion.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 27 2009 11:14 AM

New York Post

tomato
4/5

Stephen Holden

The film’s portrayal of farm life as a rugged pastorale lends The Country Teacher a foundation of visceral truth.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 27 2009 03:15 AM

New York Times

tomato
3/5

John P. McCarthy

A psychosexual rebirth occurs in a pastoral setting strewn with hay and intriguing links between human sexuality and insect behavior.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 26 2009 06:15 PM

Boxoffice Magazine

splat
2/6

Keith Uhlich

If great movies resulted purely from wizardly technical displays, then Czech writer-director Bohdan Sláma’s The Country Teacher would be a masterpiece to give Béla Tarr pause.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 25 2009 11:07 AM

Time Out New York

tomato

Ella Taylor

This sweetly ingenuous film, written and directed by Bohdan Sláma, is a lot less sentimental about cows and flowers than it is about its human protagonists, who fall domino-like in love with churls who won't love them back.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 24 2009 05:46 PM

Village Voice

splat
2/4

Nick Schager

Bohdan Sláma's direction for The Country Teacher, a film characterized by beautifully long, languorous takes, has an assured expressiveness that's at odds with the story's bumpy narrative.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 24 2009 08:53 AM

Slant Magazine

 
 
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