A calamitous attempt to do the right thing is at the heart of this painfully tense, psychologically tumultuous German drama from writer-director Ilker Çatak, in which a school becomes a hotbed of suspicion and shame. Nominated for Best International Feature at this year’s Academy Awards, The Teachers’ Lounge boasts a killer concept and propulsive, probing visuals. The film is fuelled by an outstanding performance from Leonie Benesch (who first grabbed our attention as the nanny in Michael Haneke’s 2009 masterpiece The White Ribbon) as Carla Nowak, an enthusiastic, idealistic teacher.

Yet to go the way of her more misanthropic colleagues, Carla is appalled at her school’s draconian response to a spate of thefts, with suspicion automatically falling on students, and one in particular. In a well-meaning attempt to get to the bottom of things, Carla sets about playing sleuth and through some ingenuity manages to identify a surprising suspect: the school’s seemingly benign administrator Friederike Kuhn (Eva Löbau). To complicate matters, Mrs Kuhn is also the mother of one of Carla’s most promising students, Oskar (Leonard Stettnisch), with the accusation and Mrs Kuhn’s reaction causing an explosive fall-out.

This is moreish, stimulating stuff, with Çatak and his fellow screenwriter Johannes Duncker using real-life incidents to craft convincing, discomforting moments that are ripe for post-film debate. Çatak keeps the stakes nail-bitingly high, while Judith Kaufmann’s confrontational cinematography ensures we are wedded to the action and to Carla’s increasingly heart-pounding predicament. With the school’s Stasi-like culture of whispers and finger pointing, this provocative film plays powerfully on German history. The Teachers’ Lounge also acts as a microcosm of modern society, as its do-gooding protagonist does battle with a problematic, prejudiced system, before being dragged into the moral mire herself. 

The Teachers’ Lounge, GFT, Glasgow, Friday 1 & Saturday 2 March, as part of Glasgow Film Festival; in cinemas from Friday 12 April.