Click to read the article
Comment
10/22/09
The Country Teacher (2009)
82
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
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.
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... [More]
Starring: Pavel Liska, Zuzana Bydžovska, Ladislav eedivy, Marek Daniel
Director: Bohdan Slama
Reviews for The Country Teacher
Top CriticThe 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.
08/22/09
It's the kind of film that Hollywood used to excel at but no longer seems interested in making.
08/19/09
This small, contemporary Czech marvel showcases two bright talents and a sentiment not seen often enough on screen nowadays: sincerity.
08/14/09
The film boasts subtle performances and curious situations with unpredictable outcomes.
07/23/09
A meaningful though patient drama built upon beautiful shots, a gentle humor and a great performance from Pavel Liska.
07/17/09
The film is graced with lovely performances by Pavel Liska as the teacher, Zuzana Bydzovska as Marie and Ladislav Sedivy as the boy.
07/10/09
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.
06/26/09
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.
06/26/09
Top CriticSometimes predictable, but it takes a number of surprising turns.
06/04/09
Liska, who looks like a Central European version of the young Harvey Keitel, has a kind of pitch-perfect opacity.
05/21/09
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.
04/16/09
It's a movie that demonstrates, if you'll pardon the sports metaphor, how deep the bench is in Eastern European film.
04/03/09
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
03/28/09
Directed by Bohdan Sláma, it deals with weighty issues -- loneliness, sexual identity, love (straight and gay) -- in a quiet, intelligent fashion.
03/27/09
The film’s portrayal of farm life as a rugged pastorale lends The Country Teacher a foundation of visceral truth.
03/27/09
Top CriticA psychosexual rebirth occurs in a pastoral setting strewn with hay and intriguing links between human sexuality and insect behavior.
03/26/09
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.
03/25/09
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.
03/24/09
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.
03/24/09
Latest News for The Country Teacher
March 26, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Monsters vs. Aliens Is A Blast
This week at the movies, we've got a war of the worlds (Monsters vs. Aliens, with voice work by Reese Witherspoon and Seth Rogan), a demonic abode (The Haunting in Connecticut,... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
40 Best Films of the 2000s 
Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!
Competitions
Win Funny People on DVD
We're giving away copies of Judd Apatow's latest.
RSS Feeds