Review of Monsieur Lazhar (2011) by Allister J — 03 May 2012
"Monsieur Lazhar" was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar, submitted by Canada, taking place in Montreal, spoken in French with subtitles.
The film opens with Simon (Emilien Neron) and Alice (Sophie Nelisse), students in middle school, separately see their favorite teacher hanging from a beam in their classroom before the other students enter school.
Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag) reads about what happened in the newspaper and applies for the teacher's position with the principal Mrs. Vaillancourt (Danielle Prouix) who hires him on the spot. Lazar is an immigrant from Algiers who claims to have been a teacher there for 19 years and obviously loves to teach and reaches out to the traumatized students.
The film asks a lot of questions but doesn't necessarily supply all the answers. We learn that Lazhir is not exactly who he says he is. We follow the school children as they go through therapy, argue as to why the teacher committed suicide and why she did it in school. The subjects of teachers faced with a zero tolerance rule regarding touching a student whether it be to console, to train in gymnastics or to discipline is discussed as is violence in school and society touched upon, some more deeply than others. The role of a teacher in a child's life is brought up and how a parent sees the teacher is said by the father of one who tells Lazhir that he doesn't want the teacher to raise his child, just teach her.
It is difficult to talk about any of the above subjects without giving away important parts of the film which you are better off experiencing as they happen.
The acting by the children is natural, moving, without a false note. The adults are completely believable and Mohamed Fellag, as "Monsieur Lazhar", stands out with a quiet yet forceful performance.
The film is directed and written by Philippe Falardeau with passion, delicacy and insight to children's minds. The only misstep is the introduction of a needless flirtation made by a teacher towards Lazhir. All aspects of production are first rate.
The one complaint I have about the film is that at an hour and thirty four minutes it is too short!
The film opens with Simon (Emilien Neron) and Alice (Sophie Nelisse), students in middle school, separately see their favorite teacher hanging from a beam in their classroom before the other students enter school.
Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag) reads about what happened in the newspaper and applies for the teacher's position with the principal Mrs. Vaillancourt (Danielle Prouix) who hires him on the spot. Lazar is an immigrant from Algiers who claims to have been a teacher there for 19 years and obviously loves to teach and reaches out to the traumatized students.
The film asks a lot of questions but doesn't necessarily supply all the answers. We learn that Lazhir is not exactly who he says he is. We follow the school children as they go through therapy, argue as to why the teacher committed suicide and why she did it in school. The subjects of teachers faced with a zero tolerance rule regarding touching a student whether it be to console, to train in gymnastics or to discipline is discussed as is violence in school and society touched upon, some more deeply than others. The role of a teacher in a child's life is brought up and how a parent sees the teacher is said by the father of one who tells Lazhir that he doesn't want the teacher to raise his child, just teach her.
It is difficult to talk about any of the above subjects without giving away important parts of the film which you are better off experiencing as they happen.
The acting by the children is natural, moving, without a false note. The adults are completely believable and Mohamed Fellag, as "Monsieur Lazhar", stands out with a quiet yet forceful performance.
The film is directed and written by Philippe Falardeau with passion, delicacy and insight to children's minds. The only misstep is the introduction of a needless flirtation made by a teacher towards Lazhir. All aspects of production are first rate.
The one complaint I have about the film is that at an hour and thirty four minutes it is too short!
This review of Monsieur Lazhar (2011) was written by Allister J on 03 May 2012.
Monsieur Lazhar has generally received very positive reviews.
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