The Class (Entre Les Murs)

As a retired middle school teacher I am amazed that several of the reviewers who were former teachers have never "lost it" in front of the students and engaged in a "tug of war" with them. I have experienced countless times something came out of my mouth impulsively that I regretted and led to a situation that spiraled out of control. You all must be the most amazing classroom teachers of the past two millenniums and I applaud you for being so incredibly special.However, for the rest of us mortal educators, this film is honest and raw, and watching it was so uncomfortable at times, I was compelled to pause and walk around a bit. In fact, at the three schools I taught at, our faculty meetings were just as convoluted and strained as those in the movie. I encourage all administrators to show this film to first year teachers so that they learn to avoid the land mines that so many of us have stepped on and lived to regret.Of course, if you subscribe to the handout, prescribed test, text book style of teaching, this movie will illustrate a style of teaching so beyond your comprehension, that you will have a great future in your state's department of public instruction.Bon ChanceA retired teacher who wishes he was back in the classroom and would never aspire to entering the world of educational administration

It is hard for me to imagine a story so heavily anchored in the mundane that kept me so heavily anchored to my seat. I've watched this film four times so far, and have yet to grow bored of it. The teacher, who has a predetermined curriculum to impart, is constantly being derailed by the dialectic that these students seem to prefer much more. In so doing, they seem to arrive at a middle ground between what society deems to be important for these kids to learn, and what actually IS relevant to them in their lives and experiences, not unlike a dialogue between interlocutors and Socrates, to whom they later even pay tribute with a mention of Plato's 'Republic'. Along the way, you observe the blindness and shortcomings of institutions as well as the obstinate perpetuity of the disenfranchised, and plenty of snobbery and vacuity from all quarters. Between the need for social harmony and social progress, between the theoretical and the practical, and between aspirations and reality, you are educated at the crossroads where those notions all intersect "between the walls" of 'The Class'.

THE CLASS (aka ENTRE LES MURS) is a film that is certain to be divisive in some way, whether it be with the borderline slavish devotion to realism or the teacher at the center of the story. While I wouldn't say that I loved it, it was very good on multiple levels. The film follows a teacher (Francois Begaudeau) in a Parisian high school and the class he teaches over the course of a year. Pretty early on, it becomes clear that he has a different approach to teaching than a lot of the other teachers he works with, building a rapport with his students by getting to know them on a personal level. Still, this bunch of inner-city kids aren't the easiest to work with, and have a lot of ups and downs with their teacher. Earlier when I used the word "slavish," I didn't completely mean it in a negative sense. What I really mean is that the film goes to great lengths to accurately portray its subject, the Parisian educational system. I remember bits and pieces from when I was in high school French class, but its an entirely different experience watching what it's probably like onscreen. One way in which this film takes a realistic approach is by using (apparently) non-actors/students to portray the class of students. The end credits also indicate that a lot of the teachers used their real first names, probably because they were also teachers in real life. Most importantly, this film is based on the life experiences of the actor portraying the main teacher, M. Marin, who also used to be a teacher himself. Completing this realist approach is the exclusive use of handheld camerawork and the lack of a score. All of these aspects combine to create the feeling of watching a documentary. Even the dialogue doesn't really feel like dialogue, instead hewing pretty close to how French students probably talk. This cinema verite approach might not work with a lot of people, who might find it boring, but I thought it was compelling enough. The only major issue I have, and this could just be me imposing my cultural experiences onto another, is an event which takes place late into the film. Given that the students in this film are fairly rowdy and occasionally disrespectful, it would make sense that there be some disciplinary action taken. And by and large, the teacher deals with his students in a very progressive way. However, I felt like he crossed the line in one scene where he lets his own students get the better of his emotions, and there isn't any repercussions. For me, this was a large setback to the likeability he had established up to that point, and yet after the event boils over it was like nothing had happened at all. Again, it's probably because things work a little differently in France, but it probably wouldn't fly here in the US, especially in the current academic climate. Overall, THE CLASS is still a very valuable and interesting film for the insight it provides into the inner workings of the Parisian school system and the relationship of a teacher with his students. Highly recommended.

This film was excellent! I saw it when it was in the cinemas and loved it.After doing a unit of school vocabulary with my students, it was the perfect culmination to the lesson. The students were able to understand a great deal of it and were eager to discuss the film en français, particularly their reaction to Esmeralda. I should mention that these are seniors, and that because of the language, which, by the way, is no worse than anything I hear in the hallways of my school on a daily basis, I would not recommend it for students in grades 8-10.I loved François Bégaudeau!

I hadn't heard of this film before but so happy I have in my collection. This is not a French kind of version of To Sir With Love. It captures some of the interaction between teacher and students but a thousand times better. What makes this film unique and wonderful is that Francois Begadeau who stars as the teacher......this is his life. All in the film he experienced as a teacher.. Along with non professional young actors, this is just a remarkable achievement and totally enjoyable.

Excellent film! It arrived fairly quickly and was exactly as described: new in wrapping, zone 1. It is worth noting, especially for fellow language instructors, that this film does not have French subtitles. It does have English and Spanish subtitles, though.Un excellent film pour la salle de classe universitaire. Seul bémol: il n'est pas sous-titré en français.

Un film de qualité