A Professor (2021– ) User Reviews

A coming of age story with mutliple layers

[vuile_loser · 9/10 · 2 February 2022]

Although the series is not available in English, I managed to watch it with subtitles and it was well worth the effort.

It starts like a more typical coming of age story, but soon you'll notice the story developing to much more than that.

Set against the backdrop of Rome (that looks remarkably quiet and green) we follow the story of a philosophy teacher and his students. Although you could question the professors (romantic and parenting) choices, you feel the love for his profession and students in every single class he teaches about the great philosophers and it will make you look back to some of your teachers and wish you had more teachers like him.

The young actors show some remarkable talent but the series is really carried by Alessandro Gassmann and Damiano Gavino who really make their characters come to life.

If you appreciate a teenagers coming of age story against the beautiful decor of Rome, waved into a Philosphy lesson brought to live by a crazy teacher, you'll binge this series for sure.

Disappointing

[bronzyme · 5/10 · 4 February 2022]

Such a disappoinment, Ity is still a conservative when it comes to gay scenes, they always show more of the heterosexuals love team, an intimate gay scene was cut short... messy storyline. The Professor didn't even live up to Merlí's chaotic character.

Has potential AND some stereotypical fault lines, like an overworking actor

[muratmihcioglu · 12 November 2021]

In a similar spirit with another recent RAI series, "La compagnia del cigno", this one covers the troubles of youth as they get help from adults who use a touch of their own teaching field. So, not music but philosophy this time around.

In some way, most examples of this genre borrow from "The Blackboard Jungle", however times have changed so much that those essential story arcs are now less visible, under camouflage as teens and mid-aged people are much less divided by school hyerarchy.

One thing I liked about the show is how well the "secret story" of the two boys are buried in. At first it looked like the writers were going to gay them up, or do so at least with the teacher's son, but the introduction of that secret, shared past (something involving a transplant maybe?) gave hope about a more fresh plot.

As for Gassman: He is a fine actor. Yet, I think he is overworking. One series after another, and movies in-between, that kind of pace reduces his profile to that of a "showman" who has just too much on his plate to deliver the best possible. Of course he is convincing enough, but when one's length of beard and wardrobe remains fixed regardless of him playing a wild cop, a philosophy teacher or some fun guy, one loses that essential, "visual" aspect of "getting into character". If I were him, and if I really really had to show up in every single one of these productions, I'd ask the producers to make sure that I'd "look different" with regards to who I was portraying.

The opening night of the series showed that it has the potential to attract attention, at least from the very same base that watched "La compagnia del cigno", and can get a score around 6,5-7,5.

That is, despite the unusually dull name they picked for the series. "A Teacher". What? No one had a better idea? Sigh...

Not for me

[jromanbaker · 4/10 · 13 November 2023]

I was misled on YouTube into believing this was an LGBT series to watch, and I took that advice and found that I could indeed watch all of it, and at 55 mins of each episode it was a long haul that I mainly skimmed over. This in my opinion is interesting for those who are concerned and interested in the teaching practices of Italy. In my opinion it was blandly filmed and usually I avoid, as I have with this series, the time consuming hook of series in general. Like another reviewer here homosexuality was not, shall we say, enough for me here and I am cross that I was pointed in a direction that finishes between heterosexuals when I hoped for that other orientation. Maybe I was expecting something else, but good though the series is for the ' majority ' I prefer the ' minority ' state and preferably in full blast.

Mixed feelings

[imdbmovieguy · 25 February 2024]

After watching Nuovo Olimpo with Damiano Gavino I was eager to see other movies in which he starred. I was thoroughly impressed with Nuovo Olimpo and with his acting.

Previews of Un Professore gave me the impression of strong LGBTQ themes in the movie. However, what storylines did contain these themes were few - and underdeveloped. Previews of this movie teased that we'd see certain relationships develop. However, they did not - at least in the way we were teased.

Once Season 2 began, it became evident that we'd see the same. In fact, what we did see was borderline uninteresting. Although "Un Professore" IS indeed about a professor, his life, and his students, I just wonder about the audience. Over 75% of the characters are high school aged. Thus, the audience likely skews as younger. In summary, does a younger audience really want Season 2 to begin with an older / divorced heterosexual couple being the primary focus?

I give this movie a high rating because of Season 1. However, I fear that my continuing to watch Season 2 will disappoint me. It has already bored me due to what I mentioned above. I want to see modern themes that younger generations can relate to. Watching depressed / stressed older couples is not interesting to me. And, I say this as an older viewer. I was hoping for something more fresh - and with stronger LGBTQ themes.

Finally, I hate watching a series in which interesting characters do not return the following season. It is mildly heartbreaking to see characters you've become attached to "written off." I'm mostly thinking of a character that received a lot of focus in the last episode of Season 1. * Spoiler * His name is Pen. Why not bring him back for Season 2? We became emotionally attached to him. We loved seeing his growth during Season 1. Then, suddenly, he's gone. And, new characters in which we have zero emotional connection to are introduced. As a viewer, this is very disappointing.

Too many themes, not enough depth

[pasqualedimartino · 3/10 · 25 December 2023]

The plot revolves around relevant themes that are barely described and explored in depth.

The first season is quite interesting, although the sexual aspect is not adequately addressed. A main character's sexuality is not fully investigated.

The second season is poorly written, the characters do many things inconsistent with their personalities, and LGBT issues are known to be there but not to be explored in depth.

In conclusion, while the story introduces interesting themes, the lack of depth on crucial topics and inconsistent character development compromise the overall quality of the plot.