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Country Teacher (The)
R1 - America - Film Movement Review written by and copyright: Ethan C. Stevenson (23rd August 2009). |
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The Film
 "The Country Teacher" is every bit of the cliché that comes to mind when you hear someone describe a film as “European” – it’s subtitled, has deep themes, a plot that you’ll likely never see in an American film (no, not even in an “indie” one), and there are no explosions. In fact, "The Country Teacher" (also known as "Venkovský Ucitel" in its native Czech) is basically 2 hours of people either talking or standing around looking like they’re deep in thought. Sometimes there’s really nothing happening on screen at all – just pretty scenery and nicely framed actors. So, I tell you dear reader, if any of that sound unappealing even in the slightest, stop reading now. You’ll probably never be interested in this film no matter how hard I sell it. 30-something Peter (Pavel Liška), a lecturer from Prague, has just recently moved to the country in order to accept a teaching post as the new Biology professor at the local school. His reasons for leaving a much more prestigious post in the city are not immediately clear. As a mild mannered and quiet man, perhaps the hustle and bustle of the Capital was too much. In do time Peter meets Marie (Zuzana Bydzovská), a weathered widow on the brink of a breakdown who has a 17 year-old son, and the two hit it off rather quickly. Eventually it becomes apparent that Marie is attracted to Peter and when the younger man seems to have little interest in her, Marie mistakes the rejection as a sign of her age. In actuality, Peter would never be interested in her, even if she were younger, because, as it turns out, he’s gay. And he’s got a bit of a (juvenile) crush on Marie’s son. Things get a little more complicated when Peter’s ex-boyfriend shows up in town, looking to get back together, or, at the very least, have sex with him. Peter is entirely not interested in rekindling any sort of relationship with his ex; he says that he doesn’t love his ex, so there is no reason to get back together. It runs a bit deeper than that in truth, its not just a lack of love for his partner – Peter doesn’t love himself; as a deeply depressed, self-hating homosexual, he’s currently suffering from a crisis of faith and the real reason he’s run off to the countryside, it seems, is because he just wants to get away from it all. Not just from his ex, his parents and the stress of the big city, he’s really trying to escape from his own self-inflicted torture. Pavel Liška is inspired in this role; he plays the troubled man perfectly. Often conveying the entire range of emotions needed in a scene with almost no words (which is good as I don’t speak, read or even remotely understand Czech and it’s hard for emotion to come across completely in text). Even better than Liška though is Zuzana Bydzovská as Marie; there is an utmost sincerity in her characterization of an utterly vulnerable woman at a loss for direction in life. She’s raw. Together the two showcase real chemistry. In a way, this is Marie’s story: much like Luke Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" (1977), Peter the teacher, although he originally seems like our main character, is really just a vehicle to get the viewer into the life of Marie, her son and their village. This structure is somewhat a fault of the film; the diversions into village life are often far more fulfilling than Peter’s story. Not that the teacher’s life isn’t also interesting, just that the subplots are often more so. The film is essentially two-fold – it’s at first about love – teen love (Lada; Marie’s son), lost love (Marie herself) and unrequited love (Peter; in more ways than one). But, it’s also about forgiveness and redemption. Written and directed by Bohdan Sláma, one of the most promising Czech filmmakers today – with only three features under his belt, the man has been (and continues) receiving critical acclaim from nearly all directions – he relishes in the long take; something that I find adds a great deal to the sense of realism in each scene. The director also has an uncanny ability to mix extremely depressing, outright difficult material with humor. It’s not the laugh out loud type of funny – more understated, focusing on the subtleties of life and reality – but nonetheless lighthearted and jovial. I like the film even more because of these little vignettes, which pull the film away from the awful pit of despair it is so often swirling around. It’s no wonder the exterior of the DVD case is emblazoned with numerous awards, some the film was nominated for and others that it eventually won. "The Country Teacher" is an excellent, if truly flawed, film that I’m sure those who continued to read will be the perfect audience for. Although the film is not rated it’s story content and themes are undoubtedly in "R" territory.
Video
When I receive notification of a title for review one of the first things I do is pop on over to IMDB and peruse the appropriate film page. When I did so for the "The Country Teacher" I noticed in passing that the film's aspect ratio was listed as 2.35:1. Imagine my surprise then when I started watching this DVD expecting letterbox bars on the top and bottom only to be presented with a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen image. At first I was under the impression that the film had simply been cropped and that I would then spend this entire portion of the review berating the distributor for manipulating the original framing. But – and this is extremely important to understand – even though the IMDB and indeed even Film Movement’s own website and press release list the film as 2.35:1, I believe that both entries are incorrect. Upon further inspection – basically just watching the movie – nothing seems overtly “off.” I didn’t actually see anything that strongly supports cropping: no noticeably chopped scenery, oddly staged conversations or blatantly obvious signs of misframed scenes. And, not that trailers are a go-to source for correct framing, but for what’s worth, the trailer included on the DVD is also in 1.78:1. I think that this always has been a 16x9 production and that the specifications via the Internet are simply mistaken. If this is truly a crop-job then it is one of the finest I’ve ever seen. A few things look odd, true, with characters faces occupying the extreme edges of the screen and some close ups looking a bit too close, but I think that’s just the style of the film rather than a side-effect of an incorrect, non-original aspect ratio. I don’t take these few, short instances as evidence of manipulation. Aspect ratio oddities aside, this is a decent DVD transfer. Colors are naturalistic; detail is average in today’s home video market where HD is king, but good for at least standard definition. The disc seems adequate in the compression department with no obvious signs of blocking or image break-up. The print isn’t entirely clean – I noticed a few blemishes and specks from time to time – but it’s mostly clear. The cinematography is gorgeous with not only beautiful backdrops but also extremely competent camera direction. Long steadicam shots are mixed with perfect crane and head-held work, making this, if admittedly not all that sharp, at least visually interesting.
Audio
Film Movement offers a Czech Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo language track as the sole audio option on this disc. A bit unfortunate that the film hasn’t been outfitted with true 5.1 surround sound as the mix is populated with strong ambient backing – the rustle of leaves in the wind, birds chirping in the distance, waves lapping along the shore, and so on – that could have easily been channeled to the rear, rounding off the package nicely. Still, as it is, the front heavy stereo soundtrack that viewers are given is acceptable, featuring smooth pans to the left and right speakers; solid and dependable dialog and ambient subtleties are still noticeable, remaining rather well preserved for a 2.0 mix. English subtitles default on but an option to remove them is also available.
Extras
Supplements aren’t very strong on this release. A slew of text-based information is partnered with a bonus trailer gallery for other films in the Film Movement catalog, a theatrical trailer for "The Country Teacher" and a short film. The DVD also includes an insert with comments from the director and the people behind the Film Movement series. Biographies – fairly self explanatory; text-based bios for director Bohdan Sláma and two cast members, Pavel Liška and Zuzana Bydzovská. "The Country Teacher" theatrical trailer is again very self-explanatory; the film's trailer runs for 1 minute and 34 seconds. Window-boxed 1.78:1 A text-based feature, "Also from Film Movement" offers a list of the distributor’s latest DVD releases including "Lake Tahoe", "Eldorado", "In Love We Trust" and "The Pope’s Toilet". Bonus trailers from the Film Movement Catalog’ offers up previews (also found elsewhere on the disc as pre-menu spots) including: - "Lake Tahoe" runs 2 minutes 43 seconds. - "Eldorado" 1 minute 29 seconds. - "In Love We Trust" 2 minutes 24 seconds. - "Stella Artois Short film" – Film Movement and independent film festival sponsor Stella Artois includes a short film/commercial on this DVD, entitled "The Race"; in it two brothers enter a bicycle race only to be cut short from the finish line by a flat tire. 1 minute 1 second, presented in window-boxed 1.78:1, in Italian. "About Film Movement" includes a short text-based description of the DVD series and features a short bonus trailer advertising the company. The trailer runs 30 seconds. "This Month’s Short Film…." – every month Film Movement includes a short film with each main feature. This months short "Peter and Ben" (2007) from director Pinny Grylls is the touching and quirky story of how two drop outs found friendship in a hostile world. 10 minutes 3 seconds, presented in 4x3, from the United Kingdom.
Packaging
A clear plastic amaray case houses a single disc. The interior of the case also includes two short essays, one from the filmmaker and one from the disc publisher.
Overall
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