Has anyone seen 'Entre Les Murs' (The Class)?

I haven't yet, but it's absolutely top of my list - I'll try to catch it next week.

I'm a huge fan of Laurent Cantet's earlier films Human Resources and Time Out, so I have very high hopes for this - and I'm going with a former teacher whose last job was teaching English to ex-offenders.

I've not seen it, but if you love films where nothing happens (no offence!) have you seen Etre & Avoir? I looove that film. Made H watch it too at our local arty cinema and he loved it as well.

I must check out those other films Mr JK (and on that note, where can one rent/buyforcheap these things. HMV etc. charge extrotionate amounts for world cinema).

Twill be interesting to hear your teacher friend's opinion: the man's teaching style seems to be a bit contentious (although I assume mostly among Brit/US teachers who have a different viewpoint on these things).

As I say, I adored it, hope you enjoy too...

Etre & Avoir was what got me into the 'genre'. The Class is wayyyyyyyyyyyy more of a social commentary IMHO, but I am so re-watching that one this weekend.

I really want to see this. We saw Anvil last Sunday instead, and it's also fab.

I don't like films as a general rule, but French cinema is different. I think I don't like lots of noise and special effects etc.

The frenchh do it well, as a general rule. Although I assume there is also mainstream pap or whatever that doesn't make its way over here.

Oh, God yes! ? And if you've never seen a bad French comedy...

...well, don't jump at the chance if it's ever offered!

All countries make crappy blockbuster-style films - it's just that most of them don't get distributed in English-speaking countries because they're usually worse than the American equivalent (often because they're blatant rip-offs) and have a language barrier.

We get commercial films from India and Hong Kong released over here in reasonable quantities, and a brace of Polish romantic comedies (!) has been doing the rounds of places like Streatham with large local Polish populations, but most multiplex-friendly European films are off limits.

I loved Etre et Avoir.

I'm another non filmbuff, but have loved most french films I have seen, even some of the crappy mainstream french ones. ?

Les Choristes is beautiful. As is "La gloire de mon pere" etc.

I need to watch more.

Ooo thanks for reminding me I want to see this. I've just booked to go on Saturday.

I saw this today after all, and I really liked it. I'm not sure why though - I'm no film buff and generally just 'like' or 'dislike' films. I read the interview below before the film as the cinema was handing out copies....I'm going to re-read it now with the benefit of having watched the film myself.

http://www.artificial-eye.com/theclass/dir2.html

I might now have to hunt down some of the other films previously mentioned in this thread.

I love these threads - keep adding things to my rental list ?

I currently have Cache (Hidden) to watch at home, which I'm told is great.

It's an excellent film I think, and a very interesting insight into the French educational system (some of which made me quite cross). I found it utterly compelling - I found myself leaving wanting to know what happened to the characters' lives even though they're fictional. I also saw an article/interview before and had wondered why they all had the same name as their character except for one - the reason was fairly obvious when you saw the film I think.

Just bouncing this to remind Mr JK to pop back when he's seen it....or anyone else.

I saw it earlier today, as it happens.

Really impressed - I'd been pretty well prepared for it by the reviews and my admiration for Laurent Cantet's previous work, but it's a significant leap forward in terms of subtlety and complexity. It's the kind of film that looks almost totally artless at first - just a few seemingly random snippets from life in the Parisian equivalent of an inner-city comprehensive - but everything's structured so cleverly and carefully that you almost don't realise just how powerful it gets until it really hits you.

I'd also been tipped off in advance that one of its great strengths was that it totally avoided the usual clichés - you know, inspirational teacher takes on apparently unreformable class and transforms their lives so they all emerge singing and dancing and perfect model citizens. But even allowing for that, I wasn't expecting just how often it avoided the obvious: for instance, despite the overwhelmingly multicultural environment (and the fact that pretty much all the teachers were white), racism is barely mentioned at all, whereas a British or American equivalent would have included all sorts of nudge-nudge references just to prove how right-on the scriptwriters were.

But what I thought came across most strongly was the utterly convincing characterisation from top to bottom - none of the students was patronised or caricatured, despite them all being played by non-professionals. (There's a nice little in-joke when the teacher comments on how similar a parent and student look, because the parents were played by the kids' real-life parents). The teachers were also unbelievably convincing (I believe most, if not all, were actual teachers) - and the film had the courage to present François as not always being entirely sympathetic. He makes a stupid mistake three-quarters of the way through, and the way he tries to back-pedal ("I didn't say they were skanks, I said they behaved like skanks") undermines everything he's been trying to drum into his class. No wonder they regard him with such contempt - and he knows deep down that they have every reason to do so, even though he can't possibly spell it out without his authority collapsing altogether.

Anyone who's read my posts will know that I think that Crash (as in the Best Picture Oscar winner) is one of the worst films I've seen in years, because of the way almost every scene effectively has a flashing neon sign going "LOOK! COME AND SEE THE IMPORTANT ISSUE BEING RAISED IN THIS SCENE! SHALL WE SPELL IT OUT A BIT MORE IN CASE ONE OR TWO PARTICULARLY THICK PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE DIDN'T GET IT FIRST TIME ROUND? There are just as many important issues raised in The Class (if not considerably more), but they're never bludgeoned into your skull: they're allowed to develop naturally from utterly convincing situations and dialogue. Talking of which, I thought the subtitlers did a terrific job with some very tricky source material: multi-ethnic teenage slang, detailed dissections of French grammar, you name it.

An absolutely wonderful film - the best I've seen in months.

I'm STILL thinking about it (a week later), and all the subtleties.

Glad to hear you liked it.

Thanks Mr JK.

I think the subtley was part of what I loved about it. It was thought provoking, but not in-your-face, yet still made a big impact on me. And the non-Hollywood ending was great - as you sadid it could so easily have become one bigh cliché.

And as you say, the acting was utterly convincing.

I loved the French grammar / subtitles bit....it so wouldn't have worked if they'd have done it literally.

I think the character of Souleymane is one of the best examples of how subtle and intelligent the film is, because absolutely nothing is spelled out.

Part of his classroom schtick is that he won't reveal anything about himself (even his "self-portrait" assignment ends up being done through ambiguous photographs rather than words), and although we know that he has an older brother and that his mother doesn't speak French, we know next to nothing about his home life or why he behaves the way he does - and we're also told very little about his father, except that he's presumably still around (given his rumoured threat to take Souleymane back to his native Mali), though not around enough to bother to come to parents' evening. (I loved the way Cantet held that scene for a good couple of minutes before revealing that the bloke was Souleymane's big brother and not his dad).

And this lack of information explains why his teachers are equally frustrated, because they don't know much more about him than we do. So while they go through the all the proper disciplinary procedures, it's clear that more or less everyone thinks that the process is deeply flawed because there's clearly something missing: they're condemning behaviour without understanding the causes. And of course the fact that one of the causes is François' own ill-judged outburst makes the scene all the more nuanced - as does the fact that Souleymane himself has to translate for his mother, even though what's being discussed is his behaviour and potential expulsion.

I thought it was fab. You could have believed it was fly-on-the-wall, the performances were so good.

Anvil is due here in the next few weeks - looking forward to seeing it.