‘The Lesson’ Tries to Find Justice in an Apathetic System

Like the Dardenne’s Two Days, One Night, The Lesson weaves a tale of economic suffering that is both nail-bitingly tense and emotionally impactful. It is perhaps because of this similarity that it doesn’t quite reach the heights it aspires to. Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov certainly crafted The Lesson well, and by doing so established themselves as a directing duo to watch. However, they may have aimed too high, and what could have been an excellent example of social realism is good but incomplete.

The Lesson seems ripe for comparison to Two Days, One Night, as both films concern the lives of two women fighting to stay afloat in an economic system that seems to have no regard for their struggle. However, if Two Days, One Night is filled with optimism towards life outside of economic hardship, The Lesson is its antithesis. Gone is the hope of social relations withstanding the turmoil of poverty, in its place is the cynicism of eternal servitude, the chains of which can only be broken by offering your pride on a sacrificial stone. Our heroine attempts to be firm in her virtues, but she is broken by the demands of her situation.

The story concerns Nadezhda, played wonderfully by Margita Gosheva, trying to save her home after her deadbeat husband spends her hard earned money on car parts rather than their mortgage. Working as a schoolteacher and part time translator, she is the sole breadwinner of the household, caring for two children, her recovering alcoholic husband, Mladen, and their daughter, Andrea. As she goes down the list of potential saving graces, desperation mounts. The translating company she works for has been withholding her money for an undisclosed period of time, the RV her husband is trying to sell is junk, she can’t get a loan, and her indignation towards her wealthy father’s relationship with her deceased mother keeps her from asking him. Backending the main story is an amateur mystery about a student stealing from others in Nadezhda’s classroom.

Perhaps The Lesson invites comparisons to the Dardennes’ work because it feels so much like a drearier version of Two Days, One Night. Stylistically, it operates within the same framework, with a condensed cast, naturalistic acting, natural lighting, and close, lingering cinematography. Originality isn’t everything, however, it is the fact that Grozeva and Valchanov utilize this style with a great deal of skill. Unfortunately, unlike Two Days, One Night, which is taut and quick, The Lesson seems to linger a little too long, and some of the scenes stray into excessive territory.

Although the cinematography is typical for a film of this genre, it works well. The acting is very good but there’s simply not enough emotional variation to highlight those elements. The film simply feels like most other works of social realism, and it doesn’t seem to add anything new to the public conversation, although its unique look at Bulgaria is interesting and valuable.

That being said, what The Lesson has to say about the difficulty of adapting to capitalism in post-Soviet states is interesting. It’s a bit messy and not always comprehensible, but the filmmakers use of the morality play format, where characters play the functions of morals in a grand allegory, leads to moments where we feel that they have a lot to say about the struggle to change the daily minutiae of a state used to a different economic system. Even if we don’t quite understand the allegory, we get a general impression of the struggle to maintain a moral code in a corrupt capitalist system.

It’s a topical subject, and when Nadezhda hopes that the petty thief in her class will return a fellow student’s money, it is us hoping that the system operates on the laws of reciprocity, where the unjust are punished and the hard workers reap reward. It’s clear that The Lesson is an intelligent piece of filmmaking, but it comes down to the fact that it feels too much like a debut. There is clearly more to be mined from it, and it is up to Grozeva and Valchanov to refine their style for any further projects.

The DVD from Film Movement comes with a short film, “Crooked Candy”. While it’s an enjoyable little documentary short about a Bulgarian Kinder Surprise smuggler — the candy is banned in the USA because it’s deemed a choking hazard — it’s puzzling why it’s included. The only link to the film is the nationality of the main characters, but there’s little correlation with the themes or feel of the film. Perhaps it’s meant only to be something sweet to wash one’s mouth of the bitter taste of The Lesson‘s harsh reality. If that is the case, then it works well enough.