A recent college graduate on her first teaching assignment finds her initial optimism quickly dashed due to the indifference of her students and the bitter cynicism of her fellow educators. Melanie (Eva Löbau) is a fresh-faced teacher who's eager to get in the classroom and share her enthusiasm for learning, but in order to get her career off the ground she'll first have to leave all of her loved ones in the country and establish herself in the city. Despite being exceptionally well-read on all the latest educational theory, however, Melanie quickly finds herself caught up in a hopeless wave of loneliness after arriving at the high school and getting a harsh dose of reality; not only are her students more unruly than she could have ever imagined, but the worn-down staffers seem intent on ensuring that she is dragged directly down to their level of misery and general malaise. Later, Melanie attempts to strike up a relationship with her neighbor Tina (Daniela Holtz), only to find herself unable to abide by the strict social codes of her strange new surroundings. Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Genre: Drama
- Category Psychological Drama
- Theme: Teachers and Students, Fish Out of Water, Existential Crisis, Voyeurs
- Studio: Film Movement
- Run Time: 01 hr 21 min
- Language: German
- Subtitle Language: English
- Picture Format: widescreen
- Release Date: October 2, 2007
- Lead Actor: Daniela Holtz, Jan Neumann, Robert Schupp, Eva Löbau
- Supporting Actor: Monika Hirschie, Mona Bakkar, Michaela Czoupek, Lukas Hertweck, Laura Mundle, Jasmin Fechner, Janina Heil, Gabor Katai, Felix Weigel, Achim Enchelmaier, Verena Gerstner, Alexander Ajdinski, Verena Sallinger, Robin Rexer, Robin Maier, Paulina Lang, Patricia Tuminello, Nina Fiedler, Nathalie Frey, Maximilian Hofmann, Martina Eckrich, Luisa Caruso, Jassin Schlump, Clarissa Stransky, Andreas Bornhardt, Alexandra Klett, Volker Jeck, Claire Wiebelt, Dominik Tuminello, Florian Wolf, Franziska Fischer, Giuliano Fiume, Hans-Peter Gastiger, Jennifer Wunsch, Larissa Nakovics, Lena Wacker, Markus Kober, Patrick Schrimpf, Simon Eich, Rico Groh, Ramona Look, Patrick Braun, Maria Kalinowski, Julia Ulrich, Jeremy Nauert, Hannah Bonacker, Felix Heil, Fabienne Stichnoth, Carolin Deck, Philipp Vajsman, Vanessa Neu, Alexander Diel, Sandra Nusser, Torben Brandauer, Tina Grund, Carina Zikofsky, Tobias Eicker, Thorsten Meier, Stefan Traub, Siegfried Schneider, Nick Steidinger, Nadine Scheer, Axel Hottenträger, Mareike Väth, Ruth Köppler, Hans-Rüdiger Kucich, Heinz Röser-Dümmig, Noemi Weinkötz, Jan Bühler, Jessica Weingärtner, Manuel Buchmüller
- Director: Maren Ade
