Review of The Class (2007) by Vincent B — 22 Mar 2009

Incredibly realistic and shot in a documentary style, it had the setup to be a borefest but wasnt because of the well developed characters and real interaction between everyone. Though the best part of the film is its realism, that was also what hurt it for me.

Films, to me, are escapism, and this movie was so real that it brought me back to my old rowdy highschool classroom where the poor teacher is just trying to teach but the students won't shut the fuck up and have no respect, which is a place I did not like.

You could say it acted as escapism because it brought me back to a time/place that isnt in the now, and that is true, but for the same reason Italian Neo Realism was a critical success but commercial failure, I as the viewer do not want to be reminded of a reality I don't like (one that applies so closely to me at least).

Sitting in my seat, I wanted to punch most of the kids in the classroom, but all of these emotions Im feeling are erected from the film, which is exxtremely impressive. It was a great film, completely reccomend it, but the realism hit too close to home in some parts haha.