X
- 2008
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 8 m
- 2008
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 8 m
Summary François and his fellow teachers prepare for a new year at a high school in a tough neighborhood. Armed with the best intentions, they brace themselves to not let discouragement stop them from trying to give the best education to their students. Cultures and attitudes often clash in the classroom, a microcosm of contemporary France. As a...
Directed By: Laurent Cantet
Written By: Robin Campillo, François Bégaudeau, Laurent Cantet
- 2008
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 8 m
- 2008
- PG-13
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 2 h 8 m
The Class
7.9
Where to Watch
Summary François and his fellow teachers prepare for a new year at a high school in a tough neighborhood. Armed with the best intentions, they brace themselves to not let discouragement stop them from trying to give the best education to their students. Cultures and attitudes often clash in the classroom, a microcosm of contemporary France. As a...
Directed By: Laurent Cantet
Written By: Robin Campillo, François Bégaudeau, Laurent Cantet
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
92
97% Positive
30 Reviews
30 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
92
97% Positive
30 Reviews
30 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The Class ranks with the very best films ever made about teaching, and it's unlike any English or American film about teaching ever made.
The movie is bursting with life, energy, fears, frustrations and the quick laughter of a classroom hungry for relief.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 59 User Ratings
7.9
81% Positive
48 Ratings
48 Ratings
15% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
3% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 59 User Ratings
7.9
81% Positive
48 Ratings
48 Ratings
15% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
3% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
A fresh dose of authenticity makes all of the situations and struggles found in "The Class" all the more compelling. In an age when the education system is overcome with scrutiny and pessimism against both teachers and students, the movie shows that we have to give it more than hope for it to survive - we have to give it constant dedication. I'd definitely recommend the movie to anyone who's a teacher or planning to teach.
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The Class is in that list of first-rate movies and it joins in first class. First class all the way! So much for 2008 movies, right? This high school is in first class for now.
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Here Mr. Cantet -- whose earlier features include "Human Resources" and "Time Out," two other dramas about systems of power -- has done that rarest of things in movies about children: He has allowed them to talk.
Considering the strength of performances given by the 25-or-so teenage actors portraying the students, it's amazing that none of them have previous experience.
Most impressive, Cantet tracks the racial and ethnic resentments that simmer beneath the classroom discussions but become harder to quell when the parents get involved.
The Class is a one-trick show: once you spot its approach, the narrative falls into a routine. To the "nsiders," the film is as familiar as an an aerial virtual reality ride would be to an airplane pilot. (This is hardly a surprise, since Bégaudeau was himself once an insider, though now safe in a film critic's chair.)
Two great thing about this film:
1. The topic (integrating migrants into societies) is very relevant in today's society. However, the film takes on the issue neutrally - it's neither pro-immigration or anti-immigration. It just shows the difficulties of dealing with the integration of people who are vastly different.
2. It's super-real, yet it isn't a documentary. It may portray an immigrant school, but it's more close to showing how students behave in any ordinary school than any other movie I've seen.
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This is a fairly thought provoking film about young adolescents in a multi-cultural school setting. There are different perspectives shown via people with different personalities, although most of them are quite challenging for the teacher to engage with. I thought the performances seemed quite realistic and I suppose it's a good platform for discussing the themes it covers, including pupil peer pressure/bravado, tolerance, acceptance and how teachers respond to the way pupils 'act out'. There's discussion of the balance between positive encouragement for good behaviour versus punishment for negative behaviour. It may make you see things from other peoples perspectives and so I think it's a good film but it may seem a bit dull for some perhaps - its got a reasonably slow plot pace and I'd suggest its perhaps good as a film to discuss afterwards, rather than an entirely entertaining and 'fun' film as such but it has a pretty solid feel to it, so I'd recommend it, although it won't be for everyone.
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Production Company
Haut et Court,
France 2 Cinéma,
Canal+,
CinéCinéma,
France 2 (FR2),
Soficinéma 3,
Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC),
Agence Nationale pour la Cohésion Sociale et l'Egalité des Chances (ACSE),
La Région Île-de-France,
Cofinova 4,
Fonds Images de la Diversité,
MEDIA Programme of the European Union,
Société des Producteurs de Cinéma et de Télévision (Procirep)
Release Date Dec 19, 2008
Duration 2 h 8 m
Rating PG-13
Genres
Tagline The dynamics of a multicultural class and its teacher will enlighten.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
César Awards, France
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations
Lumiere Awards, France
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
