Monsieur Lazhar

Touching and subtle
How is a class of eleven/twelve-year olds to cope with a tragedy that suddenly and out of the blue takes away their teacher? How do parents and teachers react to the trauma the children are experiencing? The school principal is under pressure to keep things "normal", none of the other teachers can take on the class, one school councillor is designated for the class of twenty plus young minds - a crisis of great proportion... Into this challenging scenario walks Bashir Lazhar and offers himself as the ideal replacement teacher. With great subtlety and compassion does the film, Monsieur Lazhar, explore the evolving relationships between teacher and students, among various teachers and last but not least, between Bashir Lazhar at the school and his personal struggles beyond. While set in Montreal, Quebec, the messages of the film are nor locality specific, and could happen anywhere. The story touches on the different ways of dealing with loss and guilt, with honesty, lies and...

Very touching
There is no shortage of good French language films about children and their teacher(s). Though this one is set in Montreal, it has many of the endearing qualities that French directors bring to their portrayal of the interaction between children and adults.

What makes this film excellent is its overall tone. It's touching, it's heartwarming and ultimately sad, but in an almost uplifting way. The acting - the children - is flawless.
And while the subject matter of death is at the core of the film, it is enveloped in a
feeling of awe and detachment at how the kids deal with it, and themselves, and a humanistic
portrayal of the teacher who has to take on the class following the suicide of their previous teacher. The teacher himself though has his own understated but real demons to cope with. But the heart of the film, including most of its scenes, take place in a classroom.

Technically, the film has a near perfect touch. Scenes end when "they should"...

Monsieur Lazhar -- C'est exquis!
And I don't throw that word around. Everything about this film is exquisite: the story, cinematography, editing, pertinence, depth, character development, acting, soundtrack -- and the French (my second language) is pristine. I don't recall breathing while watching it in the theatre, but I must have. The popcorn went untouched. I can hardly wait for the DVD!

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