Cinema Releases - The Lesson (Urok)

The Lesson (Urok)

On DVD and VOD now

★★★★ 'Writer/directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s taut and at times unbearably painful tale of financial crisis in modern-day Bulgaria blends the humanist social-realism of the Dardenne brothers with a streak of borderline absurdist gallows humour – the jet black comedy of desperation…Excellently capturing the tension between the controlling order of Nade’s personality and the spiralling chaos of her personal life, Gosheva dominates the screen, her expressive face leading us through a minefield of conflicting emotions toward battle-hardened resolve.'

Mark Kermode, The Observer

★★★★ 'This powerful drama concerns a schoolteacher trying to instil morality into her pupils while wrestling with other transgressions... Valchanov and Grozneva turn this situation into a tragi-comic and even tragi-farcical ordeal that plays out like a slo-mo car crash'

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

★★★★ ‘This gripping Bulgarian drama that's up there with the Dardennes and Loach.’

Trevor Johnston, Time Out

★★★★ 'Brilliant Bulgarian drama...it's the complexity of the central character Nadezhda (Margita Gosheva, superb) that makes the film so gripping...Like 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, The Lesson is both harrowing and weirdly uplifting.'

Charlotte O'Sullivan, The Evening Standard

★★★★★ 'Co-writers and directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov were inspired by a real life news story to create this extremely pleasing austerity thriller. The results are as exciting as anything yielded up by this year’s blockbuster crop.'

Tara Brady, The Irish Times

★★★★ 'The Lesson has the potency of a Dardenne brothers movie. It's a war movie of the everyday; wry, harsh, insightful.'

Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

★★★★ ‘Stirring stuff, with a magnetic turn from Margita Gosheva (a Bulgarian Cate Blanchett)'

Kevin Maher, The Times

★★★★
‘A tight, bleak, suspenseful drama driven by a commanding, unforgiving performance from actress Margit Gosheva.’

Tom Birchenough, The Arts Desk

★★★★ ‘Modern Classic’ Very impressive drama and can’t wait to see what the writer/directors do next.’

Gareth Cremona, Comicbuzz

'This stark, stealthy and dispassionately shot social-realist drams traps views in what turns out to be a precisely paced, nightmarish thriller...a tough, gripping watch.'

Aaron Hillis, Village Voice

'The film ultimately understands poverty as a profound and often irreversible desolation of terra firma.'

Slant Magazine

'...commanding central performance from Margita Gosheva who makes Nadezdha both a formidable force of nature but someone who proves to be all too human as well.'
Allan Hunter, Screen International

'A definite must see film. Margita Gosheva’s performance is outstanding.'

Toronto Film Scene

'Aided by Gosheva's convincing performance, Grozeva and Valchanov succeed in creating a captivating glimpse into the life of an average person forced to undergo extraordinary experiences.'

–Stefan Dobroiu, Cineuropa

'Loosely based on a real-life incident employed effectively by the filmmakers as a last-act plot twist, Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s “The Lesson” is a spare, stripped-to- essentials drama about economic stress and mounting desperation that should resonate with a wide range of international audiences. The naturalistic style of the storytelling is stealthily enthralling, as is the lead performance by Margita Gosheva as a provincial

Bulgarian schoolteacher who is slowly, inexorably driven to the edge by crushing debt.'

–Joe Leydon, Variety

'As gripping a thriller and as squirm-inducing as a horror film... The real achievement of the movie, an especially impressive one coming from filmmakers of relatively little experience, is that as a viewer you may flinch, quail and end up practically hiding behind your hands, but those visceral reactions are in response to the emotional and psychological damage being inflicted onscreen.'
Jessica Kiang, The Playlist / Indiewire

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Cinema Releases - The Lesson (Urok)

Week Commencing 5.02.16 Also available on Curzon Home Cinema