Head of its class: Monsieur Lazhar

To get right to the point - I really loved the movie "Monsieur Lazhar" and recommend it to all, especially to my friends and colleagues in the education field. I will give a number of things away in this post, so read with caution if you haven't seen the movie - and if you haven't don't come in late and miss the astonishing opening sequence. OK: what is that sequence? You'll see kids gathered on a snowy, slushy schoolyard (Montreal, in mid or late winter), one rambunctious boy runs into the school to do his assigned task, gathering milk for the classroom, and when he gets to the classroom door finds it locked, looks in, and sees teacher's body hanging from an overhead pipe - we see it only for a second, and everyone gasps. Then the boy runs off to find adult help - and the camera is still on the empty hallway as we hear the sound of his running footsteps - maybe for about a minute that seems much longer. This terrific and understated direction is typical of the whole movie. The film is about the eponymous Monsieur Lazhar who comes in as the new teacher. There are a thousand ways in which this film could have gone wrong, heading down the direction of cliche, melodrama, or familiar turf: teacher wins confidence of tough class (To Sir With Love), teacher inspires (Dead Poets), teacher breaks the rules and conventions (Freedom Writers), and many more - but Monsieur Lazhar never does go off the rails, it seems incredibly true to life in school, and it doesn't glorify the teacher or the students - it's understated and completely credible. Lazhar we learn or figure out very quickly is an Algerian political refugee and has no credentials at all as a teacher. He takes over the classroom and is quite traditional - whereas the school itself is a bit unconventional - he has the kids line their desks in rows, teaches them the classic texts - in other words, he replicates the colonial education he'd had in Algeria. The kids rebel and he comes around - but only a little. The kids like him a lot - but with some ambiguity. In other words, he's not a great, heroic teacher - but he's a good man in a difficult spot, and he makes the right decision when one of the boys has a breakdown in the class over guilt about the teacher who killed herself. The essential conflict, set up pretty early, is that there are strict rules against touching the children, even for comfort or affection - and an implication that the dead teacher stepped over the line a little bit on this score and one of the students reported that she'd embraced him (clearly not sexual or abusive, but the rules are unclear to all - even the kids) - also clear that she did not kill herself because of this report - she'd been troubled for a long time, we learn - but the young boy (the kids are about 10) believes he may have caused her death, and he's tormented, acting out - he finally breaks down in class and M. Lazhar (the kids call him by his first name, Bashir, so the movie title is somewhat intriguing) holds the boy and comforts him - breaking the rules, but doing the right thing in the moment. Lots to think about in this film, and a great, subtle examination of character and behavior - the kids, and the adults. I can imagine a U.S. remake, unfortunately, which would no doubt screw up everything.