Entre les murs (2008)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Laurent Cantet

Writers:

François Bégaudeau (book)
François Bégaudeau (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 September 2008 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.

Plot Keywords:

Student | Teacher | Class | High School | Inner City

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

François Bégaudeau	...	François Marin
Agame Malembo-Emene	...	Agame
Angélica Sancio	...	Angélica
Arthur Fogel	...	Arthur
Boubacar Toure	...	Boubacar
Burak Özyilmaz	...	Burak
Carl Nanor	...	Carl
Cherif Bounaïdja Rachedi	...	Cherif
Dalla Doucoure	...	Dalla
Damien Gomes	...	Damien
Esmeralda Ouertani	...	Esmeralda
Eva Paradiso	...	Eva
Henriette Kasaruhanda	...	Henriette
Juliette Demaille	...	Juliette
Justine Wu	...	Justine

Also Known As:

The Class (International: English title) (UK) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language.

Runtime:

Argentina:128 min | France:128 min | USA:128 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS (US prints)

Certification:

Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-3 | USA:PG-13 | Sweden:7 | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12A | Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:M | UK:15 | Mexico:B

Company:

Haut et Court

Trivia:

The French title - Entre les murs - translated into English means "Between the Walls" (as in a classroom).

Movie Connections:

References Hellraiser (1987)

Love this film!

I really enjoyed this film; however, I will disclose I thought about 10 minutes could be shaved off as a whole. The documentary style feel to the film aided not only the intimacy of looking into the classroom, but also into the lives of the students and teachers. It was refreshing to see "the human" side of a teacher portrayed--one that is fallible, not always saying the right thing despite trying to do the right thing...which is often what all people struggle with. Also, I liked that the film focused primarily on the episodes within the school rather than drifting into a melodramatic cliché of teenage angst or stereotypical conflicts. The Class is a nice balance of glimpsing into the world of teachers and their students.