Review of The Class (2008) by Michael K — 26 Dec 2009

Won the Palme D?Or at Cannes this year. This film doesn?t get the Hollywood treatment ? this isn?t Freedom Writers or Dangerous Minds or even The Ron Clark Story - there are no happy endings. Unlike Hilary Swank or Michelle Pfeiffer or Matthew Perry, François Bégaudeau doesn?t end up changing a class in one year. What you get instead is a film that feels organic and real, perhaps due to the fact that the actors aren?t actors, and they?re playing themselves. There?s no music, and some might even think it?s a documentary. To an extent, it is a documentary. It never feels scripted, even with so much talking.

In a tough neighbourhood, not just in France or America, but everywhere, many kids will not have bright futures. In The Class, we see cultures and attitudes and difficult behaviour often clash in the classroom, a microcosm of contemporary France. Armed with the best intentions, teachers brace themselves to not let discouragement stop them from trying to give the best education to their students. It?s a low-paying job and a thankless one, but somebody?s gotta do it.