In a class of its own
Winner of the Golden Palm at France's Cannes Festival 2008, French movie The Class (Entre Les Murs) is in a class of its own.
You may think that a passionate teacher and a group of troubled students would add up to heart-warming, encouraging but rather cliched films like Dead Poets Society or Japanese serial GTO. But director Laurent Cantet opted to make a documentary-like feature on an eventful, yet ordinary school year in a junior high school in urban Paris. And he tells it like it is.
Francois Begaudeau, who plays the teacher, penned the semi-autobiography the film is based on. The enthusiastic tutor tries to give his class the best education possible, but is often frustrated by the 13-year-olds.
The multi-ethnic class is made up of average pupils. Verbal battles kick off in the middle of mundane French lessons. The kids challenge the teacher on everything from grammar and football, to national pride and Anne Frank. And Francois in return repeatedly gives rational, objective answers. But his careless use of language almost starts a riot.
The classroom dynamic is engaging. It may seem the students' sincerity is because they play themselves, but the director says the dialogue was mostly improvised.
The Class is more than a movie. It's a microcosm of France's multi-cultural society, an experience and a real lesson.
