Mr Bachmann and His Class film review — remarkable glimpse into a multicultural German school

Are you a parent of school-age children wondering if you should give their teacher a present for the holidays? Well then, the German documentary Mr Bachmann and His Class illustrates why there aren’t enough boxes of chocolate in the world to reward what a good educator can achieve on a day-to-day basis.

Dieter Bachmann is nearing retirement age but still wearing AC/DC T-shirts in the classroom where he teaches a gaggle of 12-14-year-olds in the industrial town of Stadtallendorf in central Germany. The children vary widely in abilities and personality types, just as their families come from all over the world. Most of them seem to be of Turkish extraction, either the descendants of guest workers (Gastarbeiter) from the 1950s and ’60s or more recent arrivals, but there are also many with Slavic roots, Moroccans and a girl of Brazilian parentage.

Bachmann treats each one with affection and individualised care, slowly drawing out their ambitions, intellectual curiosity and hidden talents. The curriculum is pretty free-flowing and spontaneous, including lots of time spent playing instruments and talking through interpersonal conflicts among the kids. Over the course of the film, you can practically see the kids growing up into more mature, more confident adults.

With a running time that exceeds three and half hours, it can feel like you’re watching this transformation in real time. But director Maria Speth’s immersive technique is rewarding in its own right, carving out a space for intimacy between teacher, students, film-maker and viewers that’s respectful, remarkable and rewarding. Even more impressive is the singular lack of sentimentality, which means when it draws tears at the end, they feel entirely well-earned.

★★★★☆

In UK cinemas from December 9 and online in the US now