To Be and to Have (2002)
"Être et avoir" (original title)

A documentary portrait of a one-room school in rural France, where the students (ranging in age from 4 to 11) are educated by a single dedicated teacher.

Director:

Nicolas Philibert

Stars:

Georges Lopez, Alizé, Axel Thouvenin

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Georges Lopez	...	The teacher
Alizé	...	Herself (student)
Axel Thouvenin	...	Himself (student) (as Axel)
Guillaume	...	Himself (student)
Jessie	...	Herself
Johan	...	Himself (student) (as Jojo)
Johann	...	Himself (student)
Jonathan	...	Himself
Julien	...	Himself (student)
Laura	...	Herself
Létitia	...	Herself
Marie-Elizabeth	...	Herself
Nathalie	...	Herself
Olivier	...	Himself (student)
Franck	...	Himself

Storyline

How do we learn to live with others and their wishes? Director Nicolas Philibert poses this question in a village schoolhouse in Auvergne, where Georges Lopez teaches 13 children, ages ranging from about four to 12. Against a landscape of mountains and farmland, from driving snow to rain to sun, the children gather in Lopez's warm and colorful classroom, to read, write dictation, cook, and sort things out. At home, the older ones do homework with parents after their chores. At year's end, they look ahead to the next, visiting the middle school and meeting the little ones coming in the fall. As they learn sums and adjectives, with Lopez's help, they also learn to live side by side.

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Plot Keywords:

school | dedicated teacher | france | dictation | classroom | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Family

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

28 August 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

To Be and to Have

Filming Locations:

Saint-Etienne-sur-Usson, Puy-de-Dôme, France

Box Office

Budget:

€1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$20,528 (USA) (19 September 2003)

Gross:

$775,607 (USA) (11 June 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Centre National de Documentation Pédagogique, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chosen by "Telerama" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2002 (#05)

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.15 (2011)

User Reviews

Breathtaking

Any criticism of this movie would be made by those who didn't open their minds enough to it. Despite being incredibly slow, it is never tedious due to the nature of the cast. Filmed during a few months in a single room class in rural France, Etre et Avoir (To Be and to Have) is one of the most touching studies of youth to be put to film. It captures the changing of seasons in particular to moving effect. As a child develops, succeeds and as we see them grow, so too does our perception of the patient teacher (Georges Lopez). So effective in its communication is this film that, without being heavy handed or tedious, it provides us time to digest exactly what we are watching. A real slow burn and very memorable.