★★★★
"Beyond documenting the hard, at-the-coalface processes of schooling, the film also offers a celebration of European cultural diversity and puts paid to xenophobic tabloid sensationalism about how we should fear outsiders.
A stirring, unsentimental and immersive pleasure from end to end."
David Jenkins, Little White Lies
★★★★
Remarkable glimpse into a multicultural German school. Maria Speth's immersive technique is rewarding in it's own right...Even more impressive is the singular lack of sentimentality, which means when it draws tears at the end, they feel entirely well-earned."
Leslie Felperin, The Financial Times
★★★★
“Extraordinary documentary about a brilliant teacher. This is not just a celebration of one man, but of all teachers who go above and beyond for the children in their care."
Wendy Ide, The Observer
★★★★
"A soul-stirring epic of everyday education - Maria Speth’s documentary about a genial teacher shepherding a diverse group of pupils is a stunning lesson in film-making."Riveting and quietly passionate."
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
'Maria Speth’s enthralling documentary spends a year in the classroom of an unconventional teacher in a German industrial town.Gradually, a group portrait emerges that is also a remarkably detailed and complex picture of a town and a nation. And more than that: an intimate, humanist epic.This isn’t a heroic-teacher drama about idealism in the face of adversity. It’s an acknowledgment of the hard work of learning, and the magic of simple decency.'
A.O. Scott, The New York Times
“Unobtrusively patient, profoundly moving...Teacher Dieter Bachmann follows the curriculum and leads band sessions, but his life lessons are paramount in Maria Speth’s patient, intimate classroom documentary.”
Carmen Gray, Sight and Sound
★★★★
"A riveting experience."
Oliver Johnston, The Upcoming
★★★★
"An enlightening and immersive study of classroom mulitculturalism...shows just how challenging teaching can be."
Meredith Taylor, Filmuphoria
"Fascinating to watch..."
Rob Aldham, Backseat Mafia
"As melancholy as it is uplifting."
David Willoughby, The Crack
“… (a) rich vérité documentary reveals a diverse class of German teenagers in the midst of personal, social, and cultural complexities.”Daniel Kasman, MUBI Notebook
“This amazingly warm and clever documentary by Maria Speth about a sixth-grade schoolteacher deserves all the plaudits it can get.”
Ola Salwa, Cineuropa
“…(an)absorbing tribute to an inspired and inspiring schoolteacher in a multicultural school in middle Germany.”
Jessica Kiang, Variety
“Frederick Wiseman-Inspired Doc Is One of the Year’s Most Hopeful Movies”
“…this intimate portrait of a classroom for immigrant children in Germany is a profound statement about multiculturalism.”
“The movie's vérité approach may leave itself open to interpretation, but it's hard not to feel we're seeing the first rays of a better world about to dawn.”
Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire
“…one of the most effortlessly absorbing and deeply encouraging nonfiction films of recent memory.”
“Just might restore your faith in humanity.”
Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter
★★★★
“The documentary exists within the very restricted pantheon of films that successfully reap the cinematic potential of pedagogy.”Diego Semerene, Slant Magazine
“Anyone who teaches, or has ever been taught, will find something to relish in this serious-minded but quietly celebratory film.”
Jonathan Romney, Screen International
“Mr Bachmann and His Classis a Patiently Observed, Deeply Heartfelt Documentary”
Rory O’Connor, The Film Stage
