The Lesson
In a small Bulgarian town, Nade is an honest, hard-working elementary school teacher and devoted mother, struggling to keep her life together. Her unemployed, alcoholic husband has secretly spent their mortgage payments on booze, the agency where she translates legal documents for extra cash is going under, and a thief in her class has stolen the last of her money out of her purse. With few options left, Nade turns to a local loan shark for help, but with the reposession of her home looming, she finds herself with little hope. Resorting to measures her former self would have found depraved, Nade attempts one last desperate act to get the money she needs.
Cast
- Ivan Barnev
- Ivanka Bratoeva
- Stefan Denolyubov
- Margita Gosheva
DVD Features
Bonus short: Crooked Candy, directed by Andrew Rodgers
Sound: Stereo 2.0 and 5.1 Surround Sound
Discs: 1
- "Wickedly visceral! Tough, gripping, emotionally rewarding through trenchant plotting!"
- "The film ultimately understands poverty as a profound and often irreversible desolation of terra firma."
- "Quietly compelling human drama... (with) a commanding central performance from Margita Gosheva... You become completely captivated by her refusal to surrender to her fate."
Awards & Recognition
Ingmar Berman Award
Goteborg Film Festival
New Directors Award
San Sebastian Film Festival
Toronto Int'l Film Festival
San Sebastian Film Festival
Reykjavik Film Festival
Warsaw Film Festival
Tokyo Film Festival
Palm Springs Film Festival
Goteborg Film Festival