The Class
User Score
7.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 73 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 73
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 73
  3. Negative: 11 out of 73

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  1. DWilly
    Feb 7, 2009
    3
    A very dull movie. Not even a movie, really. I'm guessing critics who can't understand French thought something real was taking place, but it's not. It's amateur. The actors break and the filmmakers pass it off as acting. I can imagine an American inner city teacher going to this movie and having the response: "Ha! Is this suppose to be rough? Our honor role students would destroy these punks." Education is such a great topic for transformational drama and none of it happens in this slice-of-life movie, no doubt transcribed from a real class of snotty jerks.… Expand
  2. PerrT.
    Feb 15, 2009
    1
    Boring - had to fight to stay awake. what are the critics thinking -- do they have a clue about what drama is? felt like my entire high school experience crammed into one protracted evening. metacritic let us down!!!!!! [ed: talk to the critics]
  3. andreww
    Feb 8, 2009
    2
    Pretty boring, the climax was especially dull. i was ready to leave after the first 30 minutes.
  4. ZachC
    Mar 14, 2009
    4
    Too little interest in too long a span of time. The display of interactions between the teacher and his students was accurate, and amusing at times, but there was nothing profound or even novel about the story, such as it was, to warrant these kind of rave reviews. Tolerable, but very forgettable.
  5. GloriaS
    Mar 16, 2009
    3
    I thought the film was overly long, tedious, and boring. It's a puzzlement to me how the critics could give it such high marks.
  6. noname
    Apr 9, 2009
    2
    One of the worst, boring, repetitive and disappointing movies I've ever seen! The point of view of the students isn't explored, the conversations are often parallel and repetitive and its just the beginning.
  7. richardj
    Sep 7, 2009
    2
    Well, this film has had very high critical ratings. I must be missing something as I thought this film was tedious, very long in length and no character development at all and poorly acted. The joke is I have just trained as a teacher and this class on screen were the most docile pupils I would have ever taught and most of them were very unintelligent, try teaching in South London in the UK or schools in the US within rough areas, when you have to break up knife fights, issues with anger management, ADD and other issues. With that in mind, this film makes The Class seem very weak, Souleyman would never have been expelled in most schools for what he did as it was a minor incident and the new boy was perfectic. If this was an English speaking film, it would be laughed at and criticised for being tame. Don't believe the hype, and don't watch as you will be wasting two to three hours of your life.… Expand
  8. A.K
    Aug 16, 2009
    4
    The Class would have made for a wonderful short film. It was provocative and the characters were human. But it was simply too long; it almost alienates the viewer with its fluff. If it would have spent about an hour less establishing the characters and setting, then jumped into the main conflict of whether or not Souleymane should be expelled it would be more than worthy of the high praise it has received.… Expand
  9. RyanS
    Aug 17, 2009
    2
    Boring, monotonous drivel. Felt like I was back in grade school, listening to all the bickering going on around me. This movie really is pointless. It just goes on and on.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
92 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 31 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: David Denby
    100
    I would be surprised if this brilliant and touching film didn't become required viewing for teachers all over the United States. Everyone else should see it as well--it's a wonderful movie.
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  2. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    90
    The Class is a lovely, exhilarating work about the ways in which failure and frustration can open the pathways through which we make sense out of life.
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  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    90
    For anyone who loves language, this cut-and-thrust is a heady delight, so rich and free-flowing in its rhythms that it's hard to decide whether what we're seeing is a vérité-style documentary or a realist drama.
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