The Kindergarten Teacher
Kino Lorber | Release Date: July 31, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJul 30, 2015
The Kindergarten Teacher — the film as well as the character — yearns for different values, for intensity, beauty and meaning. Its sobering lesson is that the search for those things is most likely to end in madness, confusion and violence. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 3, 2015
Lapid’s thrilling use of the camera, the way his unbalanced frame and his imaginative staging work with the precision of his story, results in something new and genuinely unnerving. Read full review
80
The GuardianJordan HoffmanJul 30, 2015
One of the most fascinating, if inscrutable films of the year. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerJul 30, 2015
Lapid’s approach is so cautious yet so ambitious, he manages to weave an engrossing narrative that -- despite some longueurs after the one-hour mark -- grows progressively intense. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Marsha LedermanAug 17, 2015
Israeli filmmaker Nadav Lapid (whose debut Policeman was a critical hit) keeps us guessing. His message seems clear even if his characters’ motivations aren’t always. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineDiego SemereneJul 26, 2015
The film's denouement is at once shocking and organic because it echoes a well-paced but nasty children's fable. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinAug 13, 2015
Lapid confidently peppers the film with enough provocative beats, unsettling behaviors and bold camera moves to keep us intrigued — if not necessarily invested. Read full review
70
VarietyJay WeissbergJul 30, 2015
Always engrossing but also perplexing and offering little deeper than the obvious, “Teacher” still reps a new development in a striking, idiosyncratic director. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJul 30, 2015
What primarily comes across is a film about squandered creativity that itself ignores and trivializes the creative process, pretending that child prodigies produce masterworks unconsciously, like a chicken laying eggs. That’s a poor lesson to impart. Read full review
50
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeJul 29, 2015
Israeli director Nadav Lapid uses a well-worn concept — a lonely little boy is taken under a teacher’s wing — to create a slow, creepy movie. Read full review
42
The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicJul 30, 2015
The Kindergarten Teacher is too lackadaisical in its execution to be as profound as it thinks it is. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsKatherine PushkarJul 29, 2015
Slightly mesmerizing performances from Larry and young Shnaidman just manage to sustain interest in this quiet story. Even if it’s going nowhere. Read full review
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