Monsieur Lazhar (2011)

Director:

Philippe Falardeau

Writer:

Philippe Falardeau (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 March 2012 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed.

Plot Keywords:

School | Teacher | Classroom | Immigrant | Algerian

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 28 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Mohamed Fellag	...	Bachir Lazhar (as Fellag)
Sophie Nélisse	...	Alice L'Écuyer
Émilien Néron	...	Simon
Marie-Ève Beauregard	...	Marie-Frédérique
Vincent Millard	...	Victor
Seddik Benslimane	...	Abdelmalek
Louis-David Leblanc	...	Boris
Gabriel Verdier	...	Jordan
Marianne Soucy-Lord	...	Shanel
Danielle Proulx	...	Mme Vaillancourt
Brigitte Poupart	...	Claire
Jules Philip	...	Gaston
Louis Champagne	...	Concierge
Daniel Gadouas	...	Me Gilbert Danis
Francine Ruel	...	Mme Dumas
Sophie Sanscartier	...	Audrée
Nicole-Sylvie Lagarde	...	Psychologue (as Nico Lagarde)
André Robitaille	...	Commissaire
Marie Charlebois	...	Procureur
Evelyne de la Chenelière	...	Mère d'Alice
Stéphane Demers	...	Père de Marie-Frédérique
Nathalie Costa	...	Mère de Marie-Frédérique
Judith Baribeau	...	Professeur d'anglais
Jose Arandi	...	Professeur de judo
Emmanuelle Girard	...	Professeur
Gabrielle Thouin	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Maxime Cadorette	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Marion L'Espérance	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Laurie Pominville	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Jean-Luc Terriault	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Carol-Anne Arbour	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Enrik Cloutier	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Samuel Chartier	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Mandani Tall	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Anne-Frederique Bernier	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Marie Kim Filion	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Fabiola Monty	...	Élève - Classé de Bachir
Salome Ettien Miller	...	Élève - Classe de Bachir
Mariane Lalumière	...	Élève - Pièce de théatre
Jessica Charbonneau	...	Élève - Pièce de théatre
Marie-Félixe Allard	...	Élève - Pièce de théatre
Bachir Bensaddek	...	Préposé au bureau de poste
Héléna Laliberté	...	Martine Lachance
Vincent Giroux	...	Peintre
Hélène Grégoire	...	Gardienne

Directed by
Philippe Falardeau

Writing credits
Philippe Falardeau		(screenplay)

Produced by
Luc Déry	....	producer
Kim McCraw	....	producer
Claude Paiement	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Martin Léon		(original score)

Cinematography by
Ronald Plante

Film Editing by
Stéphane Lafleur

Casting by
Emanuelle Beaugrand-Champagne
Nathalie Boutrie
Constance Demontoy

Production Design by
Emmanuel Frechette		(as Emmanuel Fréchette)

Set Decoration by
Josée Arseneault

Costume Design by
Francesca Chamberland

Makeup Department
Katryn Casault	....	makeup artist
Ann-Louise Landry	....	key hairdresser

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lili-Anne Crevier	....	second assistant director
Ariane Côté-Chénier	....	additional third assistant director
Yanick DiVito	....	additional third assistant director
Carole Doucet	....	first assistant director
Joëlle Malo	....	third assistant director

Sound Department
Mathieu Beaudin	....	supervising sound editor
Catherine Bellazzi	....	boom operator
Sylvain Bellemare	....	supervising sound editor
Pierre Bertrand	....	sound
Sophie Cloutier	....	second boom operator
Bertrand Duranleau	....	foley assistant
Bernard Gariépy Strobl	....	sound re-recording mixer
Simon Meilleur	....	foley artist
Jean-Philippe St-Laurent	....	dialogue editor assistant

Special Effects by
Guillaume Murray	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Marie-Pierre Boucher	....	visual effects production assistant: Rodeo FX
Francis Clément	....	visual effects production assistant: Rodeo FX
Patrick David	....	digital compositor: Rodeo FX
Jean-Francois Gagne	....	digital compositor: Rodeo FX
Annie Godin	....	visual effects producer: Rodeo FX
Ara Khanikian	....	lead compositor: Rodeo FX
Sébastien Moreau	....	visual effects supervisor: Rodeo FX
Josiane O'Rourke	....	visual effects coordinator: Rodeo FX
Jordan Soles	....	senior staff: Rodeo FX
Kar Hung Tom	....	system administration: Rodeo FX
Robin Tremblay	....	matte painter: Rodeo FX
Mathieu Arvisais	....	digital compositor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Marcel Breton	....	chief lighting technician
Franck Develey	....	key grip
Gabriel Fortin-Taillon	....	electrician (as Gabriel Fortin)
Denis-Noel Mostert	....	steadicam operator
Isabelle Tessier	....	second assistant camera
Filippo Viola	....	first assistant camera

Editorial Department
Erik Daniel	....	post-production supervisor
Arthur Montreuil	....	film color timer
Mirenda Ouellet	....	assistant editor
Etienne Patry	....	colorist

Music Department
Bernard Gariépy Strobl	....	score music mixer
Sébastien Lépine	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Laurent Boye-Guérin	....	international festival publicity team: telefilm canada (as Laurent Boye)
Marjorie Hamel	....	script supervisor
Gabrielle Tougas-Fréchette	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• micro_scope

Distributors

• Albatros Film (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Distribution Company (2012) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• E1 Films Canada (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Imagine Films Distribution (2012) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Imagine Films Distribution (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Music Box Films (2012) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• StraDa Films (2012) (Greece) (theatrical)
• UGC Distribution (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• Vertigo Média Kft. (2012) (Hungary) (theatrical)
• Zazie Films (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Øst for Paradis (2012) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Christal Films Distribution (2011) (Canada) (all media)
• Film1 (2013) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Kam & Ronson Enterprise Co (2013) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Kam & Ronson Enterprise Co (2013) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Kurmaca Film (2012) (Turkey) (all media)
• Officine UBU (2012) (Italy) (all media)
• Vendetta Filmes (2013) (Portugal) (all media)
• good movies! (2012) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Rodeo FX (visual effects company)

Other Companies

• Cinepool  grip and lighting equipment
• Fredell Pogodin and Associates  publicity

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, a disturbing image and brief language

Runtime:

Canada:94 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

French | English | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Japan:G | Ireland:12A | UK:12A | Singapore:PG13 | Netherlands:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12

Company:

micro_scope

Trivia:

Canada's official submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 84th Academy Awards 2012.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Maltin on Movies: The Lucky One (#1.72)" (2012)

Heart-Warming and Heart-Wrenching

Monsieur Lazhar is another in a long line of inspirational teacher films set to show viewers that teachers are an unending source of inspiration and worldly advice. I have grown tired of this plot line and subsequent variations, but Monsieur Lazhar is a shining example of the inspirational teacher film and the poignancy of said films if executed correctly, with honesty and maturity.

Philippe Falardeau's (It's Not Me, I Swear and Congorama) film adaption of Evelyne de la Chenelière's play (she also plays Alice's mother), Monsieur Lazhar was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category as the official Canadian submission. The film tells the story of Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), an Algerian immigrant hired at Montreal public grade school after the original teacher was found hanging from the ceiling of her classroom. The teacher, Martine Lachance, was found by one of her students, Simon (Émilien Néron) while he was delivering milk to the classroom as he always does every Thursday. The film continues to show the effects of death and the ways that the children try to deal with the loss, but also their grief, which at times seem to be stifled by the school.

Monsieur Lazhar, at the same time, is dealing with a loss of his own; having come to Canada seeking asylum and waiting for his wife and children to join him, only to have his family killed the night before they were supposed to leave Algeria. The film cuts between Bachir in the classroom (having the children do a dictation of Balzac, rearranging their desks, etc.) and Bachir outside of the classroom (picking up his wife's belongings, preparing for a hearing, etc.). No one knows of his painful past, nor of his refugee status; the school is under the impression that he is a permanent resident of Canada.

Bachir notices, because of his current dealing with grief, that the children are trying to communicate or express their feelings about the death of their teacher. The school has brought on a psychologist to help the children come to grips with their loss. Bachir realizes that it is merely a stop-gap, but is told "not to make waves". He continues to witness things that lead him to believe that the children want to talk about their teacher, Martine and also of the trouble they are having trying to understand something that may well be beyond their comprehension.

Monsieur Lazhar is a heart-warming, but at the same time, heart-wrenching story of how people (whether it be children or adults) trying to come to terms with the loss of a family member (albeit for the children it was a teacher, but school, at that young age, can be something like a second home). Bachir, himself, uses a very personal and poignant short story, that he wrote himself and reads to his class, in an effort to say goodbye - something that Martine Lachance never did. The film features some great performances from Mohamed Fellag as Monsieur Lazhar, Émilien Néron as Simon - a guilt-ridden child that feels responsible for his teacher's suicide - and Sophie Nélisse as Alice, the surprisingly mature young girl that has the courage to speak about the effects of Martine's decisions.

Kevin FilmPulse.net