My Rating: 3.86/4 (aka Must see)

One line summary: A kindergarten teacher nurtures a poet in her class.

The Deets: Maggie Gyllenhal is always good. Even in her recent-ish directorial debut (“The Lost Daughter”), she was able to snag the great Olivia Coleman in the lead role, and in a movie that could have been mediocre, it was excellent. This film is also excellent, and it’s anchored by Gyllenhal – she might be in every scene. Her character is also not an easy one to play; she’s uncomfortable in her various environments, at school, at home, and in her adult education poetry class, where she struggles to find depth, wisdom, and originality. But when her 5 year old student begins to spontaneously recite brilliant verse, she is able to recognize this greatness immediately — almost like an editor / author relationship. And then, it begins to unravel in some most perfectly toned and delicate ways. I still need to see the original version of this subject by the Israeli director Nadav Lapid. But this version, but Sara Colangelo, is sharp, a tidy 96 minutes, and stays true to itself all the way to the end.

Perfect for: Anyone else who’s a Maggie Gyllenhal fan, and especially if you love poetry.

Where to watch: Netflix yo, and this is why you pay for it.

Food pairing: For some odd reason this feels like a hot dog kind of movie…maybe because hot dogs are a food that kids like, but these should be elevated hot dogs.