This film, directed by Laurent Cantet, opens the New York Film Festival on Sept 26, 2008 and probably wider later on. It won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year.The film chronicles a French teacher's (played convincingly by François Bégaudeau) year at a struggling inner-city school in Paris.
The class takes place mostly in a classroom with non-professional actors of all stripes, from all corners of the world, which is a refreshing change. There is also a lot of time spent in meetings with other teachers during various committee meetings and such. Stuff like this has never really been explored in film.
There is much to say about it's verite and incredibly natural performances. The problem with films of this style, is that they quickly become boring. There is just so much talking, monotonous speeches and confrontational exchanges between the teacher and the students, that the genuiness of the performances begin to be overshadowed by the boringness that sets in.
The film does address many of the problems afflicting education in modern France (and North America, for that matter) such as assimilation, letting people fall through the cracks, fostering the brighter students etc... However, no real stance is taken and there is no serious discussion.
Perhaps besides the point, but I would have loved to have seen the students in their home life, or the teacher's life away from school.
I like the idea of being able to put a camera on every day situations and being able to find a story. Unfortunately, in real life, there is seldom any cinematic drama that occurs. Much like this film.
No comments:
Post a Comment