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To Be and to Have

Original title: Être et avoir
  • 2002
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
8.2K
YOUR RATING
To Be and to Have (2002)
Watch Trailer
Play trailer1:40
1 Video
4 Photos
DocumentaryFamily

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.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.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
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    8.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Nicolas Philibert
    • Stars
      • Georges Lopez
      • Alizé
      • Axel Thouvenin
    • 78User reviews
    • 68Critic reviews
    • 87Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 8 wins & 8 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:40
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    Photos

    To Be and to Have (2002)
    To Be and to Have (2002)
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    Top cast

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    Georges Lopez
    • L'institueur
    Alizé
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Axel Thouvenin
    • Les enfants de la classe
    • (as Axel)
    Guillaume
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Jessie
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Johan
    • Les enfants de la classe - Jojo
    Johann
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Jonathan
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Julien
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Laura
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Létitia
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Marie-Elizabeth
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Nathalie
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Olivier
    • Les enfants de la classe
    Franck
    • Les frères et soeurs, les nouveaux...
    Kevin
    • Les frères et soeurs, les nouveaux...
    Jérome
    • Les frères et soeurs, les nouveaux...
    Magali
    • Les frères et soeurs, les nouveaux...
    • Director
      • Nicolas Philibert
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      After Etre et Avoir received so many awards and was met with such fanfare, the teacher, Georges Lopez, sued the producer for compensation. Contractually he and the students were paid a set amount of money (low-budget documentary prices), however Lopez did promotional tours and thought he deserved a larger share after the film's success. The French judge did not rule in his favour.
    • Connections
      Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #17.2 (2004)

    User reviews78

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A film of warmth and humanity
    Named as one of the best films of 2002 in the Film Comment poll of 59 international film critics, To Be and To Have provides an insight into the learning process of thirteen children, ages 4 to 10, in a one-room schoolhouse during a seven-month period. The film is a tribute to the innocence of childhood and to the dedication of their teacher, 55-year old George Lopez. Director Nicolas Philibert selected Lopez' rural schoolhouse in the Auvergne region of southeast France from a list of 300 schools. As Philibert explained: "I wanted a school with a limited number of pupils so that each child would be easily identifiable and become a character in the film. I also wanted the fullest age range possible -- from kindergarten to the final year of primary school -- to show the atmosphere and charm of these small, eclectic communities and the very specific work required from the teachers."

    Filming almost 600 hours of the children's daily activities with a crew of four, Philibert allows us to re-experience the long forgotten frustrations of learning how to trace letters, express our feelings verbally, count until we run out of numbers, and get along with our classmates. Mr. Lopez has taught in the same school for twenty year and has a unique ability to simply be with and respect children for who they are and what they say. He is a model of patience and an example of how to listen without making moral judgments or instant evaluations. He says of the teaching profession, "It takes time and personal involvement and the children return that again and again." Most of the children come from families who are not well educated but the film shows the parents struggling to do their best to solve the mysteries of their child's homework. To Be and To Have is also filled with humor as in a sequence when two very young students are fighting a losing battle with a photocopier and when a student insists on using the word "pal" instead of "friend". Much time is spent observing a pre-schooler named Jojo with a very typical attention span. He is endearing but I would have liked a bit more exploration of Katherine who we find out at the end has a serious problem in communicating.

    Mr. Lopez works closely with each child, showing sensitivity in the way he handles problems as when he asks two fighting students to imagine the effect their behavior has on others. Time and again he mediates disputes by helping children to communicate with each other as in the scene where he assists two older boys, Julien and Olivier, in understanding the reasons they got into a fight. "You were just testing each other, but then it degenerated, no?" he asks. The film begins in December with footage of snow falling on a herd of cows and continues until the following Summer. By the end we have come to know many of the students. When the teacher announces he is going to retire in another year, the emotion on his face when the children plant kisses on his cheek as they say goodbye for their vacation was felt throughout the entire audience of 800 people. To Be and To Have celebrates the dedication of teachers whose unacknowledged labors make a profound difference in the lives of our children. A film of warmth and humanity, it is the highest grossing French documentary of all time. Job well done, Mr. Lopez and Mr. Phlibert.
    helpful•7
    2
    • howard.schumann
    • Apr 7, 2003

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • August 28, 2002 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • France
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Être et Avoir
    • Filming locations
      • Saint-Etienne-sur-Usson, Puy-de-Dôme, France
    • Production companies
      • Maïa Films
      • Arte France Cinéma
      • Les Films d'Ici
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • €1,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $777,129
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $20,528
      • Sep 21, 2003
    • Gross worldwide
      • $16,064,098
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 44 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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