This Drama That Got 100% on RT From Critics & Viewers Is Most Striking Film of the Year

Teachers in cinema are always guides to the treasure trove of knowledge, beacons in dark times, sources of inexhaustible wisdom. Jack Black infected us with a love of music in School of Rock, Robin Williams taught us to seize the moment in Dead Poets Society, Julia Roberts helped us not to lose ourselves in Mona Lisa Smile.

Antoni Benaiges, the character of the recent Spanish hit The Teacher Who Promised the Sea, who is not a figment of the writer's imagination but a real historical figure, stands in the same line of teachers whose classes any of us would like to be in.

What Is The Teacher Who Promised the Sea About?

Ariadna learns that her dying grandfather, Carlos, was trying to find his father, who disappeared during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. The girl decides to continue the search and soon discovers that Carlos was a student of Antoni Benaiges.

The action moves to the past: a young Catalan teacher arrives in a village in the north of the country and gradually changes the lives of the schoolchildren. The teacher tries to instill in the kids a love of creativity, advocates progressive reforms and promises to show them the sea.

But not all adults like Antoni's methods. The fateful day is not far off when right-wing forces invade the village and declare the innovator an enemy of the state.

The Teacher Who Promised the Sea Is a Movie About a Devoted Man

Enric Auquer's character was destined to be a teacher. Boring lessons and physical abuse are replaced by humanism, walks in the forest and creative tasks. Antoni tries to make the children think more broadly: soon the students will start printing books on a press and dream of going to the coast together.

As the clouds gather over Europe, an enthusiast from Catalonia allows the students to do what other adults seem not to allow – just be kids.

Patricia Font based her movie on the novel of the same name by Francesc Escribano, but does not try to show the intricacies of the reformer's pedagogical method.

Sketches of everyday school life do not fill the entire running time: the viewer quickly gets to know the main characters of the class and realizes that Antoni will have a significant influence on the immature minds.

The Teacher Who Promised the Sea is divided into two timelines: in addition to the events of the 1930s, scenes from 2010 are shown. Ariadna searches for her great-grandfather and delves into the history of Spain. Not surprisingly, in 2023 the movie became a hit in Spain and received a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from both viewers and critics.

This Is a Film About How Important It Is to Remember

Antoni Benaiges is a classic romantic idealist hero who became a victim of the regime. During their search, Ariadna and one of Antoni's students are surprised at how little information has been preserved about the teacher.

But as we know, a person is not forgotten if the memory of him is alive. The talented teacher remained in the home-made books of the students, in the dreams of the sea breeze that might have come true, in the memories of his contemporaries.

Patricia Font reflects on memory and sheds light on a forgotten figure from the dark pages of Spanish history. Many biographical dramas are valuable for this very reason – the opportunity to bring little-known figures to the attention of a wide audience. The Teacher Who Promised the Sea is no exception.