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Francois Begaudeau wrote a bestselling novel called Entre Les Murs about his experiences as a teacher in Paris. When the book was being made into a movie, it made sense to cast Begaudeau as the teacher; likewise, real students from Francoise Dolto Junior High School were enlisted to play his pupils.
The result, a film called The Class, is an unusual picture that seems to play somewhere between documentary and fiction feature.
The Class takes in a year in the lives of teacher and students, starting off with the fresh hope of a new term. (The opening shot of the film is the back of the teacher's neck, establishing, it would seem, his openness and vulnerability.)
The returning teachers introduce themselves to new staff members, bringing a viewer into the adults' realm. Soon enough, the kids' world is introduced, as our teacher (Begaudeau) is welcoming his new class. The children are of every nationality and range in ability from genius to hopeless. They dawdle, they tease each other, they argue. It's a typical classroom of 14-year-olds. The first meeting involves a discussion about wasted time.
What happens in The Class is all about the subtle (and not so subtle) interaction between the teacher and the students. They argue about verbs and the way people talk, discuss rumours that the teacher might be gay, talk about who should read aloud. Nothing takes place without endless questioning and talk, and a few of the kids soon move into the centre of the story. One is Souleymane (Frank Keita), a bright but apparently troubled kid, and another is Esmeralda (Esmeralda Ouertani), who is outspoken and self-confident. They both figure in a later incident that underlines the impossibility of a teacher's job.
When the camera isn't on the children, it's in the teachers' lounge, and with that material The Class can be cruelly humorous. Here are the earnest conversations about coffee makers and report cards, and here the furious ranting of a teacher who has had enough for one day. A short meeting about discipline and giving the children a points system for behaviour tells you almost everything you need to know about the character of each teacher who speaks.
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The Class is intense and wonderfully written, to the point where some of the in-class scenes will leave you squirming and hyperventilating. It's amazing how much one forgets about the experience of going to school, and probably out of an instinct for self-preservation.
The film has already been spectacularly successful. The Class won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and it's been submitted as France's entry for Best Foreign Film at this year's Oscars. Whether it lives up to the advance hype is really in the eye of the beholder, and we find it worrisome that the bad behaviour of a few of the kids fits so nicely with the dim view of immigrants held by some Parisians.
Just a thought.
(This film is rated PG)