The Class (2008 film)

The Class

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Laurent Cantet
Produced by Caroline Benjo
Carole Scotta
Written by Laurent Cantet
François Bégaudeau
Robin Campillo
Based on Entre les murs
by François Bégaudeau
Starring François Bégaudeau
Cinematography Pierre Milon
Edited by Robin Campillo
Distributed by Haut et Court
Release date
  • 24 May 2008 (2008-05-24) (Cannes)
  • 24 September 2008 (2008-09-24) (France)
Running time
 128 minutes
Country France
Language French
Budget €2.5 million[1]
Box office $28.7 million[1]

The Class (French: Entre les murs; lit. "Between the walls" or "Within the walls") is a 2008 French drama film directed by Laurent Cantet, based on the 2006 novel of the same name by François Bégaudeau. The novel is a semi-autobiographical account of Bégaudeau's experiences as a French language and literature teacher in a middle school in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, particularly illuminating his struggles with "problem children": Esmerelda (Esmeralda Ouertani), Khoumba (Rachel Regulier), and Souleymane (Franck Keïta). The film stars Bégaudeau himself in the role of the teacher.[2]

The film received the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, making it the first French film to do so since 1987, when Maurice Pialat won the award for Under the Sun of Satan. The Class was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film but lost to Departures.

Plot

Set wholly in a secondary school in a working-class district of Paris, where many inhabitants are foreign-born, the film follows the year of a young teacher, François Marin, and the 25 pupils aged 14 or 15 who he takes for an hour each day in French language. A loner, he walks the narrow line between maintaining discipline and gaining co-operation.

From the start, wide differences are apparent in the class over standards of dress, deportment, knowledge and application. A dispute arises over using the imperfect and pluperfect subjunctive, which he admits may be a bit of an affectation and is then labelled as gay (his sexuality is not revealed in the film). When pupils have to read aloud from a set book, The Diary of Anne Frank, a girl called Khoumba refuses because she does not consider it relevant to her life. In private, François forces her to apologise.

Success comes when he asks the pupils to write a self-portrait. An assertive girl called Esmerelda reveals that she would like to be a policewoman or failing that, a rapper. A difficult boy called Souleymane, weak in written French, submits his story in an interesting series of photographs (at a parents' evening, his mother can speak no French at all). However, after an argument over football teams with Carl, another boy who is problematic, Souleymane insults François and is sent to the head teacher's office.

At a teachers' conference to decide final placings, François defends Souleymane but his efforts are undermined by the two student representatives at the meeting, Esmerelda and Louise, who behave in a very childish manner. Afterwards, though sworn to secrecy, the two girls tell the others that François had it in for Souleymane. A furious François rebukes the pair, saying they behaved like sluts. Uproar follows, in which Souleymane, after accidentally felling Khoumba with his sports bag, storms out and is suspended. After a disciplinary hearing at which Souleymane is supported by his mother, for whom he has to translate, he is excluded and faces possible deportation to his native country, Mali.

In the last lesson of the year, François asks each pupil what they have learned over the year. Carl has been inspired by science experiments in his chemistry class, Khoumba has warmed to music and enjoyed learning Spanish, Esmerelda pretends to have learned nothing but then admits that she has been reading Plato's Republic and is gripped by the character of Socrates. After they have all left the room, a quiet girl called Henriette comes back and despondently claims that she really has not learned anything at all. Outside, an impromptu football match has begun between the pupils and teachers, which François joins and scores a brilliant goal.

Cast

Reception

The cast at Cannes Film Festival 2008

The film has received critical acclaim, achieving a 95% rating at Rotten Tomatoes out of 151 reviews counted. The site's consensus reads, "Energetic and bright, this hybrid of documentary style and dramatic plotting looks at the present and future of France through the interactions of a teacher and his students in an inner city high school."[3] Metacritic lists Entre les murs with a rating of 92,[4] making it one of the best reviewed films of the year according to the website.

The film was warmly reviewed by the critic Philip French who noted: "There is a remarkable French tradition of school films, extending from Jean Vigo's Zéro de Conduite, to Nicolas Philibert's Être et avoir. Laurent Cantet, whose parents were both teachers, carries it on and he elicits marvellous performances...As the teacher at a tough, racially mixed, inner-city school in Paris, Marin (François Bégaudeau), neither weary cynic nor wide-eyed idealist, is a decent, determined realist..not a saint, though by the end of the school year he has exhibited certain of the necessary qualities."[5]

The film was the featured 'opening night' selection at the 46th New York Film Festival in 2008.

Top ten lists

The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008.[6]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Academy Awards 22 February 2009 Best Foreign Language Film Laurent Cantet Nominated [7]
Cannes Film Festival 14 – 25 May 2008 Palme d'Or Won [8]
César Awards 27 February 2009 Best Film Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Laurent Cantet Nominated [9][10]
Best Director Laurent Cantet Nominated
Best Adaptation François Bégaudeau, Robin Campillo and Laurent Cantet Won
Best Editing Robin Campillo, Stephanie Leger Nominated
Best Sound Olivier Mauvezin, Agnes Ravez, Jean-Pierre Laforce Nominated
European Film Awards 27 February 2009 Best Film Simon Arnal, Carole Scotta, Barbara Letellier, Caroline Benjo Nominated [11]
Best Director Laurent Cantet Nominated
Image Awards 12 February 2009 Best Foreign Language Film Won [12]
Independent Spirit Awards 21 February 2009 Best International Film Won [13]
Los Angeles Film Critics Association 9 December 2008 Best Foreign Language Film Runner-up [14]
Lumières Awards 19 January 2009 Best Film Won [15]
Public Prize Won
Satellite Awards 14 December 2008 Best Foreign Language Film Nominated [16]
Toronto Film Critics Association 17 December 2008 Best Foreign Language Film Runner-up [17]

References

  1. 1 2 "Entre les murs". JP's Box-Office.
  2. ↑ Manohla Dargis (26 September 2008). "Laurent Cantet's 'The Class': Learning to be the future of France". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "THE CLASS (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  4. ↑ "The Class". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Philip French review, The Observer, 1 March 2009
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Metacritic: 2008 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Retrieved January 11, 2009.
  7. ↑ "THE 81ST ACADEMY AWARDS". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  8. ↑ Mike Collett-White; James Mackenzie (26 May 2008). "French film wins top Cannes prize". Reuters. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  9. ↑ Peter Knegt (23 January 2009). "'Public Enemy' Takes Record 10 Cesar Nods". IndieWire. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  10. ↑ Elsa Keslassy (27 February 2009). "‘Seraphine’ tops Cesar Awards". Variety. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Eugene Hernandez (8 November 2008). "AWARDS WATCH With 'Gomorrah' and 'Il Divo,' Italy In Spotlight at 21st European Film Award Nominat". IndieWire. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  12. ↑ "NAACP Image Awards". NAACP Image Awards. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011.
  13. ↑ Susan King (22 February 2009). "'The Wrestler' wins at Film Independent's Spirit Awards". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "34TH ANNUAL LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS". Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  15. ↑ Rebecca Leffler (19 January 2009). "Biopics in Lumiere spotlight; 'Class' best pic". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  16. ↑ "2008 13th Annual SATELLITE™ Awards". Satellite Awards. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011.
  17. ↑ "PAST AWARD WINNERS". Toronto Film Critics Association. Retrieved 16 April 2017.


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