Mr Bachmann and His Class

The prospect of a gentle, three-and-a-half-hour observational documentary focused on a teacher and his class of young charges could sound vaguely off-putting. It shouldn’t. Although the premise might sound a tad subdued, the time spent with Mr Bachmann is unassumingly absorbing, and the hours fly by in a most agreeable way.

Director Maria Speth’s work allows audiences to observe the final year of elementary school at the Georg Büchner Gesamtschule in the German town of Stadtallendorf, after which Mr Bachmann’s students will go on to an upper or lower high school, depending on their grades. There’s nothing insistent about the film (nor Mr Bachman himself), and there’s a total absence of any narration or talking heads, firmly positioning it in the cinéma vérité camp. Speth doesn’t apply an overt narrative structure, simply capturing events in a chronological fashion.

The result really succeeds on Dieter Bachmann himself, an impeccable educator, all empathy and joviality. His class (who are all around 12 to 14 years old), treat him with deference and affection, which is reciprocated. There’s nothing particularly revolutionary about his approach, and it seems as though this man was simply born to teach. His offhand disclosure that he really only got into the profession because it offered a steady wage, and he had a wife and two children to support, doesn’t diminish the commitment he clearly has to his vocation. 

The students are also an asset. One wonders how long the cameras were rolling before Speth actually got any usable footage, but, aside from a rare furtive glance into the lens, the youngsters fail to acknowledge the presence of a camera crew in their classroom. They’re an ethnically diverse lot, which reflects the cultural makeup of Stadtallendorf, and is certainly indicative of contemporary Germany. Their teacher encourages them to celebrate their differences, cultivating inclusivity without a whiff of virtue signalling. Along with Mr Bachmann’s boundless compassion, his conflict resolution skills transcend any discord his beloved students might experience, and it’s an unexpectedly riveting cinematic experience.

Oliver Johnston

Mr Bachmann and His Class is released in select cinemas on 9^th December 2022.

Watch the trailer for Mr Bachmann and His Class here: