Customer Reviews

The Class (Entre Les Murs) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I knew absolutely nothing about this film - other than it was in French and won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. I wanted to approach it with no pre-conceptions. After watching the 2 hour, 10-minute film on DVD I then read the background. I knew it was not a documentary but I wasn't aware that the teacher was the author of the original book upon which the film was based, and that he also wrote the screenplay. The students seemed to be too realistic to be professional actors. (And they aren't; they are actual students at the school.). I stuck with the film, waiting for a solution or happy ending (like Mr. Holland's Opus" or "Stand and Deliver") but it never came. At first I was disappointed , but then - after thinking about it - I realized that this is "real life" (it was based on an actual class) and it was just as much an experiment in filmmaking (using the teacher/author and the student/actors) as an entertainment film.

I won't go in to the details of the film - another reviewer, Chris Pandolfi, has done that already - but will comment on the DVD version, which I do recommend. First off, the subtitles are clear and probably the largest font I've seen in a while and are in the black bar below the screen (except, oddly at one point where a few sentences appear ABOVE the picture) , making them easy to read. The DVD also allows you to scan back to a section you may have missed. The bonus features include a 40-minute "making of" featurette and two brief scenes with commentary by the director and star/author. All of these are in French with subtitles. The "Making of" adds to appreciating the film even more, but watch it AFTER you have seen the film; not before.

If you are an educator, you will find this film food for thought. If you are a parent of high school aged students you will find this "real", even though it takes place in a multi-cultural school in France.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

I'd heard great things about this film and was eager to see it. I attended school in France for a year and have a great interest in French culture. One of my very favorite films is The Chorus, about another teacher who faced a class of problem students in a French boarding school.

The film held my interest but I cannot say that I enjoyed it. I found it almost depressing and I didn't understand why until I watched the added features and learned that this was not a real documentary. The students were coached in improvisation and then the script was written from their sessions.

The writer/actor/teacher said, in an interview that he didn't include much positive material in which students gave correct answers or worked quietly at their desks. I can see that they wanted to avoid a repeat of "To Sir with Love" but I think they overdid it with the negativity. After watching these kids give the teacher a hard time for more than two hours, I found it hard to sustain any sympathy for them. We were supposed to feel empathy for the "problem" child who was eventually expelled, but, by that point, I was happy to see him leave. When the film was over there was no sense that anyone had learned much, if anything. The best thing that happened was the soccer game in the yard.

When I learned that this was not actually a documentary I was relieved of thinking that these kids were hopeless. I didn't watch all of the special features but I did see enough of the sessions of the students with the director and teacher/actor to see that they were a gorgeous bunch of lively, beautiful yountg people. I think that if the film had been made as an actual documentary, unrehearsed, that we would have seen the real natures of these kids and fallen in love with them. The way it was done, they were encouraged to act out their most disagreeable selves...and that didn't make for either a dramatically satisfying or a realistic film. In a way I feel cheated; those kids didn't necessarily always act the way that the film portrayed them.

You can see from the readers' comments that criticize the teacher for his bad performance, that the viewers believed that this was actually happening "in real life." A lot of conclusions were drawn that have no basis in reality.

I wish it had been a real documentary. I would have loved to see what those kids and that teacher were really like.

"The Class" is about a dedicated teacher, Francois Marin (played by Francois Begaudeau), in an inner city Parisian middle school. Lead actor Begaudeau has an interesting background; he was in a punk rock band and was a writer before becoming a teacher. He turned his experiences teaching into a book, "Entre Les Murs" (Between these Walls), which was then loosely adapted into "The Class." In the film, we follow Francois as he teaches a class of 25 students during the school year. The movie made news when it became the first French film to win the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in over 20 years.

Francois' teaching style is unusual, at least for American audiences; he encourages his students to ask questions, even if it takes them off the main topic. So a lesson on subjugating French verbs can quickly lead to a discussion of slang and a variety of topics - some quite unexpected. Whether his style is effective is questionable. Plus, Francois is often just barely in control of his class, although he seems more in control than some of the other teachers. However, regardless of effectiveness, his style does make for a fascinating movie. Francois' strives to make his lessons applicable to the lives' of his students in his highly multi-cultural mostly lower income class. He struggles to understand his students and their diverse backgrounds as he attempts to teach them. How can he teach French to a bunch of students who openly say that they aren't French? That is part of Francois' dilemma.

The plot of "The Class" is nothing earth-shattering - just typical things one could observe in any classroom. What sells the movie is its tremendous realism. Begaudeau is extraordinary as the lead teacher; he's refreshingly human. He isn't portrayed as a hero who rescues his students and inspires them; this isn't "Lean on Me" or "Stand and Deliver." As good as Begaudeau is, the movie is stolen by the nonprofessional young actors. I liked that the teens had problems but weren't presented as thugs - this isn't "The Asphalt Jungle." These teens are more complicated than that. The young actors participated in months of workshops with Begaudeau and director Laurent Cantet, during which the specific situations that occur in the movie were improved. Thus, the actors themselves contributed to the script, which helps explain the degree of realism. The movie feels like a documentary, and we feel like voyeurs peeking into their space - between their walls. Whether you like the way that Francois teaches of not and whether you like these kids or not, "The Class" is an enlightening, entertaining film.

It is hard for me to imagine a story so heavily anchored in the mundane that kept me so heavily anchored to my seat. I've watched this film four times so far, and have yet to grow bored of it. The teacher, who has a predetermined curriculum to impart, is constantly being derailed by the dialectic that these students seem to prefer much more. In so doing, they seem to arrive at a middle ground between what society deems to be important for these kids to learn, and what actually IS relevant to them in their lives and experiences, not unlike a dialogue between interlocutors and Socrates, to whom they later even pay tribute with a mention of Plato's 'Republic'. Along the way, you observe the blindness and shortcomings of institutions as well as the obstinate perpetuity of the disenfranchised, and plenty of snobbery and vacuity from all quarters. Between the need for social harmony and social progress, between the theoretical and the practical, and between aspirations and reality, you are educated at the crossroads where those notions all intersect "between the walls" of 'The Class'.

I think, for me, the most impressionable aspect of this film is that there are no Hollywood endings. Yes, for a film that prances around in the genre that helped Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank and many more `help their students fix their lives', `Entre les Murs' brilliantly exposes the truth behind that myth.

I have not read the memoir (of sorts) written by the films star, Francois Begaudeau, but after watching this harrowing film I think I just might seek it out.

The film centers on a single school year, where Mr. Marin attempts to reach some of his students the best way he knows how. He is sincere and earnest and yet the apathy around him has certainly tainted his actions. He is sharp at times, even if it's hidden by a smirk or a chuckle. He is judgmental, yet he is also hopeful. He is not a `new teacher' brought in to take on a group of students no one else wants to deal with, he is a veteran teacher who is continually trying to make a difference, no matter how hard it becomes.

The film beautifully contrasts the difficulties on the teachers as well as the students. There is no talk of home life really, and there is no overly dramatic elements like drug abuse and so on. This is a film strictly about the public school system and the film brilliantly layers itself with questions that present a great debate for the audience. Does the school system really work for everyone? My friends and I have had this discussion plenty of times. Children are so different and so not every student is going to respond to the same methods. Some need a little more guidance, some need more freedom, some need a stern hand, some are more visual, some are quick learners...the list goes on and on. I think possibly the most important moment in the film comes when a single student approaches Marin to confess that she hadn't learnt anything all year. When she approaches Marin you realize that you've seen her, but you've never heard a single word come out of her mouth before this scene. You may not even know her name. She is that quiet girl who tried hard but failed to really soak in anything.

With an ending that speaks volumes in itself (this is life, not some movie), `Entre les Murs' is a phenomenal tour-de-force of a film.

I had heard (and I may be wrong so don't quote me on this) that the cast is primarily high school students themselves, not genuine actors. I haven't found any avenue to confirm that, but if that is true then it was a genius move. The cast seems so fresh and natural in their environment. They feel like real kids reacting to real situations. Their arrogance doesn't feel rehearsed but it feels naturally guarded. When one of the girls tells Marin that she wants him punished there is a smirk on her face that feels fragile, almost insecure, as if she is still concerned her plan will backfire.

Or maybe she even fears that she has gone too far.

Some, obviously, have found this film overrated and boring. I feel for them, for I don't think they got the film. This is the definition of a character study, and director Laurent Cantet studies these characters very, very well.

I have to admit I'm a Francophile in every sense of the word. No, I don't speak French and I've had trouble finishing Hugo. But I love the country and wish to go some day. Ah, there's the rub. I've never gone. So to allow myself to penetrate the postcard Paris we're all sold, the dreamlike place where everyone is in some stage on the road to everlasting love and an accordion permeates thru the background and look-there's a mime and a impossibly stylish woman wearing various manners of black-to go beyond these cliches I often try to read up on what France is really like. Much lies below the surface. One of the major problems in France is the manner in which the country treats its immigrants and those who are citizens but nonetheless don't look "french". Employment and academic opportunities are not great for minorities and they are often segregated into run down neighborhoods. For the most part France ignores this. This film does not.

The Class is a French film. I mean, it might be slower than what you're used to. Keep with it. It's beyond worth it. The film fearlessly deals with questions of race, religion, class and culture. These kids are onto the secret the French wish them not to know: that they're not welcome. These kids know the score and are announcing their intention to continue fighting.

One more thing. This is a film about junior high school age kids. Yet the film doesn't for one moment condescend to them. It treats them with respect and dignity and allows their depth to show thru.

Great director with a great cast. The documentary feel to it completely works. This is about as realistic as it gets. This one will stick with you. Haunting, fiery and beautiful. Wow.

This documentary-style drama looks at a year inside a French middle school. The acts are real kids, the teachers are real teachers and the script has a wonderfully authentic feel. The actors are improvising much of the time but their behavior and conversations come across as absolutely real. The kids are annoying, uncooperative, quarrelsome and difficult, just as any young teens would be.

The class is a modern-day melting pot with many immigrant children from Africa, North Africa, China and elsewhere. One important objective of the French education system is to turn these kids from such different cultures and backgrounds into traditional citizens of France, conversant in classic French grammar and the tenets of French civilization. Unlike the United States, France is not a melting pot. Newcomers are expected to accept the predominant culture. But these kids -- and their parents -- are both unwilling and unable to do so. The kids from Mali and still strongly loyal to their country of origin, as are those from Morocco. They feel neither love nor gratitude nor loyalty to France.

Before writing this, I read a New York Times review and the subsequent readers' comments. Many teachers wrote that the instructor in this class, Monsieur Marin, made many errors. He was never truly in command of the class; he encouraged too much debate; he tried to be his students' friend and then, when this didn't work, fell back on invoking his authority; he failed to separate trouble-makers; he violated privacy by allowing discussion of sensitive, even intimate matters.

I'm not a teacher so I can't comment on his technique. It seemed to me that he was making a sincere effort in rather difficult circumstances.

One plot device would never happen in the United States: two young students, as class representatives, are allowed to be present as teachers hold confidential discussions assessing their fellow students' performance. One then violates this confidentiality, telling one particular student what has been said about him. Her account is not entirely accurate and it precipitates the central crisis of the movie.

It seems pretty absurd to allow 14-year-old kids to sit inon such sensitive discussions.

This is quite a long movie but very interesting and thought-provoking. There are many differences between the French and American education systems -- but also some disturbing similarities. And kids are kids everywhere.

THE CLASS ('ENTRE LES MURS') is more of an experience than a film. Based on the book 'Entre Les Murs' by teacher François Bégaudeau who also wrote the screenplay and stars in the film as the unique teacher François Marin, this thoughtful and challenging story is presented in a style that could only be termed 'French verismo'. If it feels like a documentary for the first part, that is to the credit of the author and the director Laurent Cantet: we, the viewers are taken into the classroom where the majority of the film takes place, lingering there through discussions between teacher and the varied ethnic group of students who challenge (with good thought) the teaching techniques and subjects of discussion in Marin's days of attempting to 'educate' a somewhat reluctant audience. The subject of the course may be French, but the incongruities of language spread into areas of conflict of the meaning of words and the 'out of date' subjects of grammar that occupy Marin's course outline.

Another fascinating aspect of this film about education in schools populated by 'difficult students' is the use of the device of entr'acte - diversions from the classroom into the teachers' lounge where we learn even more about the education and varied sociological systems and age and experience differences among the faculty influence that is at the core of this film. It all sounds and seems so extemporaneous that it makes the messages conveyed all the more powerful. Many will find this film too 'talky': there are almost no excursions outside the school and certainly no 'sidebars' to show the extracurricular lives of the mixed group of well drawn and acted students. The story unfolds slowly, like a conversation, and is offered by a set of 'actors' who disappear completely into their roles. This is one of the few 'classroom films' that elects to inform rather than to preach and features a teacher who is as fallible as the students. Many lessons are here in this Class. Grady Harp, August 09

As a former teacher, I had high hopes for this highly touted French docudrama about an inexperienced teacher coming to grips with his rebellious inner-city pupils. Yet, `The Class` fails to deliver a plausible drama or an instructive and insightful documentary. Instead, it falls somewhere in between, achieving neither.

While the film is full of the drama inherent in any classroom environment, director Laurent Cantet fails to exploit and examine the student/ teacher interplay thoroughly. Rather, much of the `drama` in the film lapses into childish `melodrama,` much of it stemming from the foolish behavior of the rookie teacher, Mr. Marin, played by the originator of the film, Francois Begaudeau.

Some of the situations Mr. Marin and his student find themselves in are indeed fascinating and will bring about a sense of déjà vu for any teacher watching. For instance, when the students make the inevitable inquires into their teacher`s life, Mr. Marin handles himself and the queries with aplomb, subtlety, and sophistication. In another situation, Mr. Marin confronts a disrespectful student after class. Here, the teacher`s wounded pride and frustration are palpable and will strike a chord with many an educator. Unfortunately, Cantet jumps the film onward without delving any further. It would have been fascinating to examine the student`s motives, which to be fair, are somewhat laid out, in a letter Marin receives after the incident.

Some of film`s staffroom scenes are just plain ridiculous. The overacting here on the part of some of Marin`s colleagues can be partly excused by the documentary element of the film. To its credit, `The Class` strives for complete realism. Cantet uses actual teachers and students in the film.

`The Class`s` central conflict is when two student officers spread misinformation from the teachers` grading meeting. While the school`s effort to be transparent is laudable it is doubtful that such student representatives would have the needed maturity to handle confidential information like student evaluations.

When the rumors spread about how Mr. Marin supposedly denigrated a student`s academic potential, the `class` explodes into anarchy. Realistic yes, but the conflict is fueled by Mr. Marin`s foolish behavior. Every teacher loses their cool and says things they wish they hadn`t, but Marin indulges in a shouting match with his students where some unfortunate words are shared. Being immature kids, the students hear what they want from Marin`s tirade and as a group, turn against their teacher.

From here onwards, Marin`s class disintegrates into chaos. An angry student who feels insulted storms from class and injures another student in the process. Brought before a disciplinary committee he is soon expelled despite Mr. Marin`s, ever the idealist, valiant attempts at mitigating the punishment. The film ends with the class`s final day, each student sharing what they have learned (or not) from the year. The expulsion and the unfortunate student are all but forgotten.

What to make of this audacious experiment? Its heart is in the right place and few films of a similar vein show the mayhem and majesty of the classroom quite like this film does. Yet, in final analysis, the film leaves you wanting more, unsatisfied and somewhat exasperated at being subject to so much `drama` sans le explication.

I liked this movie because it showed all of the darkest, ugliest parts of education. These moments seemed to me to juxtapose against the pretentious happy sports scene near the end of the movie. Is Mr. Marin a good teacher, and if not, what makes a good teacher?

I can relate to the frustrations the teacher, Mr. Marin goes through while trying to teach a group of children who are less than eager to learn the curriculum. It really did at times seem like a constant battle between Mr. Marin and his students. With the attitudes of some of the students, the viewer is left to wonder why they are in school at all. This is not to blame the students; but to question whether the school systems are helping or hindering the students as they are currently set up, and if they are hindering the students, how can we fix this problem, especially given the colonial undertones of the film.

The movie raises some interesting questions as it runs its course: what topics are appropriate in the classroom, how much argument and discussion should a teacher allow, and how receptive should a teacher be to the suggestions from the class. Also I thought it was interesting how very little group work was done. I am not sure if this was for the benefit of the movie or if the teacher did not allow much interaction among the students, again, teaching them to listen but not to speak.

This class was so different to the classes I had at that age where we did work and assignments at the teacher's bidding without questioning or "insolence" as the movie states. But is part of education teaching students to learn how to speak up for themselves and express themselves, because if it is, then Souleymane, in his hearing, sadly learned that he was not encouraged to be heard, as there was very little chance for he or his mother to truly be heard during his so called hearing. I find it striking that Souleyman's mother apologises for her son's behaviour while Mr. Marin does not apologise for his. Why does he insist on apologies from the students when he himself refuses to do this?

Then there is a question of the rules: there are the rules for the students, and then different rules for the teacher. But shouldn't adults be held to a higher standard than children? When Mr. Marin forces the character Khoumba to apologise to him several times for refusing to read to him, we wonder: why is the teacher forcing an apology, and also, why isn't Khoumba eager to apologise? Does it degrade her in some way to have to do this? Why should she be forced to read if she doesn't want to, although Anne Frank is certainly deserving material although Mr. Marin mentions that she gets deported and dies which is an interesting parallel to Souleyman. Also, how far should educators be pushing students? Should they be forced to learn? They are children, after all, and adults supposedly know best, but is the material helpful for their lives? The teacher, I don't think, ever gets to the bottom of this question, even though, to Khoumba this is about respect. She writes him a letter asserting that her teacher doesn't respect her so she won't cooperate. Which leads to another aspect of education: that students do not learn for a teacher they dislike or disrespect. So having a student dislike a teacher can hurt his/her success in the class.

Mr. Marin clearly had good intentions in helping the students, but he ultimately failed that year because of his actions that spoke the most about his character and his position of power. At the end of the year, when a young girl of African descent told the teacher she had learned nothing, I believed her, because in fact, she had learned nothing in the most important aspect of the play: how humans treat one another, more specifically, how a French teacher put himself first before his student. It came down to almost a warlike situation between Mr. Marin and Souleymane, with Souleymane ending up with a hopeless future while the teacher stays comfortable in his teaching career in France. When Souleymane was challenging Mr. Marin about trying to expel him, in a complex interplay of personalities and motives, two girls Esmerelda and another girl worsened the relationship between Soulemane and Mr. Marin by telling Souleyman that Mr. Marin thought he was limited. When Mr. Marin lashed out at them and called them skanks, upsetting Souleymane, he made a mistake. But because he did not take responsibility for that mistake, and did not give Souleymane the same forgiveness for getting angry and crossing the line that he seemed to give himself, he proved the ugly truth by saving his pride rather than saving a student. It shows how this girl learned nothing new, only what she had already known about French society. If he would have explained the situation clearly to the administration then Souleymane would not have been expelled and ultimately would not have been sent back to Mali.
This event came full circle in the scene with the immigrant women cleaning the classroom at the beginning of the movie.

Understandably Mr. Marin was exasperated with the students. But again, it is how we act, rather than what we say, that really teaches others and because Souleymane ended up leaving, I think that the teacher won is what the students learned in that class. So I think this film is about forgiveness, the lack of it, respect, and maybe why school is a war zone sometimes.