Film Review: Entre le murs / The Class
One of the best foreign films of 2008 hits American shores.
Apr 2, 2009
The Class (French title: Entre le murs), based on a semi-autobiographical novel by François Bégaudeau, is not exactly a documentary, but more a recreation of a literature teacher’s experience during his 5th year teaching at a middle school in Paris. Bégaudeau stars in the film, and many of the students simply play themselves.
Director Laurent Cantet expertly captures the interaction between students and teacher, as well as the events that unfold throughout the film. His technique is unobtrusive, which creates the aura of a documentary film.
The dialogue is very natural, lending to the best quality of the film, which is that it strives to inform without lecturing or being patronizing to its subjects or viewers. It’s a little over two hours, but never feels like it’s wasting a moment.
The Class is No Soap Box Special
Though many of the students are clearly experiencing rough times in their home life, the film does not try to glorify their pain, or use it as an excuse to villainize the school system. But it does point out that the system has not developed an effective method to deal with the negative behavior that results from a student’s tumultuous personal life.
Of course, there is also the argument that it is not the school’s responsibility to parent its students. Ultimately, even though the film will certainly ignite conversations, its goal is to present one man’s experience, not solve a debate.
The Class Achieves What Hollywood Perpetually Fails At
When watching The Class, it’s hard not to think of several patronizing Hollywood movies, particularly Dangerous Minds (1995) starring Michelle Pfeiffer, and most recently Freedom Writers (2007) starring a skeletal and acting-deficient (and most likely iron-deficient) Hillary Swank.
What can be remembered about these generic mishaps is that they thrive on literally filling a classroom with inner city stereotypes, puffing them up with aggression, and then knocking them down with the intellectual wiles of their Caucasian upper-class savior/teacher. Then sometimes the teacher learns that it’s hard in the ‘hood. And the audience walks away laughing, or wondering what is wrong with people, and why do certain crap films get greenlit while others do not?
Curiously, both of these cinematic clichés are based on true stories, but whatever elements made them unique are always castrated by the Hollywood studio system, leaving behind a carcass of shame that not even vultures would dine upon.
The Class Should Be Seen
The Class deserves to be seen by a larger audience in the U.S. than merely the art house faithful. Its subject is relevant, engaging, and honest. There are no movie star distractions, or blatant corporate agendas in play. The preview does absolutely no justice to the complexity of the film, or how entertaining it can be.
It may not change the world, but judging from its primarily positive reviews, and the fact that it is the first French film in twenty-one years to win the Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, one can conclude that it touches upon the right cinematic, intellectual and emotional nerves.
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