Film: The Substitute (El Suplente)

What’s literature good for?

To put us to sleep.

Argentinian film about a substitute teacher - as you may have suspected. However, the teacher, in this case, is a university professor who agrees to take on a literature class at a school in his local area.

In every film I’ve seen about a teacher, their class is the extreme end of bad behaviour. Not in Buenos Aires though. They may be bored and going to sleep in the class but that’s the limit. We watch as the Professor takes a special interest in a kid who happens to know his Dad, a well-known local figure. For a change, there is no rebellion from the teacher. He stays within the rules - so even he behaves. However, drugs are found in the school leading to classrooms being observed something that the professor detests as it means the pupils are less forthcoming.

Gangs and drug crime feature but this film skips along fairly lightly making it extremely watchable. 

7/10

Netflix