The Class (2008)
"Entre les murs" (original title)

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.

Director:

Laurent Cantet

Writers:

Laurent Cantet (scenario), Robin Campillo (scenario),

Stars:

François Bégaudeau, Agame Malembo-Emene, Angélica Sancio

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Teacher François Marin and his colleagues are preparing for another school year teaching at a racially mixed inner city high school in Paris. The teachers talk to each other about their prospective students, both the good and the bad. The teachers collectively want to inspire their students, but each teacher is an individual who will do things in his or her own way to achieve the results they desire. They also have differing viewpoints on the students themselves, and how best to praise and discipline them. The administration of the school tries to be as fair as possible, which includes having student representatives sit on the student evaluation committee. Marin's class this year of fourteen and fifteen year olds is no different than previous years, although the names and faces have changed. Marin tries to get through to his students, sometimes with success and sometimes resulting in utter failure. Even Marin has his breaking point, which may result in him doing things he would ...

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Plot Keywords:

student | teacher | school | high school | inner city | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language

Details

Official Sites:

Haut et Court [fr] Official site [ca]

Country:

France

Language:

French Bambara Spanish

Release Date:

24 September 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

The Class

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£67,945 (UK) (13 March 2009)

Gross:

$3,766,595 (USA) (5 June 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Haut et Court, France 2 Cinéma, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS (US prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First French film to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival since 1987. According to jury president Sean Penn, the choice was unanimous.

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Connections

Referenced in The Names of Love (2010)

User Reviews

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.