THE LESSON ****
Trust is the most valuable virtue and also the hardest one to find; to obtain someone’s trust is the same as being able to fully participate in a shared life where revealing secrets and disclosing are made without fearing judgment or prejudice. It’s a strong form of believing in one other, that is always defied by the risk of disappointment. And, as hard as life can be, sometimes the disappointment becomes personal, with oneself enduring contradiction. A teacher stares at her class, formed of very poor young children, with the awful sense of failure; she’s trying to teach them everyone makes mistakes and stealing is completely unacceptable, but forgiveness is also available for those willing to take it. A wallet is missing and she decides giving the thief some time to think it over and return the stolen item, in order to find redemption. A struggling woman herself, supporting her unemployed husband and her baby girl, she gives herself completely to make ends meet. She’s trying hard to maintain her family supplied, and manages to share integrity and moral values with her students, motivating them and leading them into righteousness. But an unexpected storm is about to wash her away, as authorities approach her door announcing their displacement. Now, the same feeling of failure and total disappointment she had shown for her students in the opening scene makes room for the second act, as she learns her husband has extorted the money she gave for the mortgage payments. The fear of tutoring a thief in school is brought over her roof becoming personal, as she has to endure the fact her husband acted in a similar mistrustful way. Desperate to save her family and their house, she ventures on her own, determined to accept the challenges, to deal with temptations and to firmly remain truthful to integrity. And even though weakness could play a risky part through her journey, becoming an inevitable obstacle, she must survive the task at any cost, and that could be contradictory. This Bulgarian drama, made with a microscopic budget, is a highly dramatic and powerful meditation on human values and integrity, capitalism, financial crisis and moral dilemma with an astonishing performance by Margita Gosheva in the leading role as the Teacher. The Duo of writers-directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov expose their social issues with accurate subjects, building an intensely paced and unpredictable narrative, as they analyze the importance of trust and honesty through this woman’s desperation.
SEYMOUR: AN INTRODUCTION
Directed by Ethan Hawke, this coherent and interesting documentary follows Newark-born Pianist Seymour Bernstein, as he narrates his life of musical passions, grand encounters, solitude, teaching and inspirational philosophy of life.
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