From the Film Maker...

The first feeling I got from the painting was a sense of oppression. I was intrigued by the two blacksmiths, labouring hard, bending over their work. Contrast that with the customer who’s simply staring at them, in a severe, overbearing way. He reminds me of an oppressive teacher I had at school.

I wondered what the blacksmiths were thinking while they were working and what they would have done as soon as the customer left. I started thinking about revenge.

In the painting the customer is on one side and the workers on the other. I tried to echo this in the film where the students form a compact line, while the teacher is always facing them. The characters strike the same poses as the people in the painting. The students bend away, so as not to be seen by the teacher. The teacher strikes a rude and fierce pose and has to bend down when he wants to speak to them; lowering himself to their level.
Claudio Lamperti