I like the trailer for this movie, because it doesn't give anything about the film away. I mean what the film is really about. All the trailer presents is a To Sir With Love type romp except set in Canada and in a primary school. Which, while it kinda is, it's a lot deeper than To Sir With Love, and raises a lot of issues, that if you just saw the trailer you wouldn't have picked up on. And of course, if you haven't seen the film, I will now spoil any surprise that was held for you!
When a primary school teacher hangs herself in her classroom, the school is thrown into chaos. The teachers are unsure how to help the children with the grief while also struggling to cope themselves. The principal (Danielle Proulx) is also having trouble finding a replacement for Martine, until Algerian Bachir Lazhar (Fellag) turns up and offers his services as a teacher after seeing the suicide in the paper. With no other option, he is hired right away. Gradually, we see how the children adapt to the new teacher, and how he bonds with them and helps them with his grief. Along the way, we learn about his violent past, while he is opposed by the other teachers and some of the parents who find objections in his rather old fashioned way of teaching.
This is a very satisfying film, and I don't mean that it is competently made with very little else to it. No, there is plenty to this film. So many issues ar available to be looked at and talked abou, but almost all of them are left unanswered. This is the main problem with the film. Yeah, I'm starting with the problem rather than the good stuff, but there is a lot of good stuff. So, for discussions this is a good movie. It will leave you thinking about it for a long time afterwards. And also brings forth a lot of themes for critics to cite and drone on about. Which is what I will do, though I can't offer any real resolutions. How perfect for an ex-Lit student.
So, the main thing I got from this film was the difference between the adults and the kids. I know it sems like a weird thing to hone in on, but for me it was the most important part. The adults are so scared that they will traumatise the kids if they talk about Martine's death, that they never confront it except with a school psychologist who makes visits once a week to every class to check on the kids for a few months after the suicide. Lazhar actually tries to talk his class about it on several occaisions, but every time he is then reprimanded by the principal. The way chilren are treated in this movie is like atomic-bombs, all the teachers are too frightened of lawsuits to make sure that they are fully okay. One of the best quotes from the movie is from one of the students, "They think we are traumatised, but they are more traumatised than us."
The film is also about violence, though it is not a violent film. The act that Martine commits, the way one of the students, Simon (Émilien Néron) gradually becomes more and more violent to his fellow classmates because of the guilt he feels. Even Lazhar's himself comes from an extremely violent background. His family is taken from him in such a tragic way, and it is through this that he is able to connect with the students and understand their pain. My favourite scene is when Alice (Sophie Nélisse), another student, presents a speech about violence to the class, and expresses her doubts about Martine, and questions why she would kill herself in a classroom. It is the most powerful part of the film. Alice doesn't break down and cry, doesn't even shed a tear. Just presents her speech formally and honestly, then sits back down again.
This brings us nicely to the acting. The two main child actors, Émilien Néron and Sophie Nélisse, are two of the best child actors I have seen in too long a time. They outshine their adult co-stars so brightly (scuse the pun), and they are so real with their reactions. Fellag is also excellent as Lazhar, who's intentions and approaches to teaching clash with what the kids are used to , and the modern curriculum. But the kids are really the stars here. It's so refreshing to see something other than the Disney-esque cutesy stuff we normally get. And considering the subject matter, they all do exceedingly well to convey the complex emotions that normal people go through when something like this happens.
This review doesn't really express how incredible this film is, but then again, no review ever can. It was Canada's entry for Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars, and actually made the short-list. But awards shouldn't be what makes you go see a certain movie. I hate the word heartfelt, but that is what this film is while I try and think of a better adjective. It's emotional yes, and a little sentimental, but done in a naturalistic way that isn't exactly meant to inspire, simply meant to show us a moment in a mans life. I'm sorry this is incredibly rambling, and that it took so long to come out. I am now proudly two weeks behind schedule, but I will try and get the next review, which should be Beasts of the Southern Wild, within the next ... whenever. Until next time, readers. Those school-girl days....
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