Review of Who Saw Him Die? (1968)
Seen in 2021.
A teacher struggles to maintain his status and control a pair of unruly students at a primary school in Malmö. He mumbles, uses force, and explains himself to the parents at a time when education is being democratized.
There was a lot going on in the (late dual) school system at this time. Authoritarianism was on the way out and I’m glad Troell tackled the subject. The kids are believably badly behaved, played mostly by non-actors. So far as it’s realistic, the film is good too, but Troell injects too much late-New-Wave surrealism, without the beauty of “Zéro de conduite” (1933).