Films about inspirational teachers bringing light, life and a love of learning to their students have been a mainstay of the art form virtually since celluloid passed in front of a lamp. Several of these films have achieved a certain degree of immortality, like Goodbye, Mr. Chips, while others, if not quite so well remembered, are certainly still very much appreciated, like Up the Down Staircase or Dead Poet's Society.
The problem with many of these films, however well done or well intentioned they are, is that they almost inevitably end up being at least slightly mawkish, with doe children staring in adoration at their mentor, and the teacher finding his or her life irrevocably changed due to the interaction with the kids. While it can't be denied that some of these elements certainly seep into the 2011 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, Monsieur Lazhar, it must also be stated that the film is almost resolutely unemotional, at least on the surface.
The film is also anchored by a couple of central tragedies at its core, one of which opens the film and the other of which is slowly but surely revealed as the film goes on.
The first shocking incident is the suicide of an elementary school teacher, who chooses to end her life by hanging herself in the classroom. While her actual death is not seen in the film, we are party to one child, Simon (Émilien Néron), finding her swaying from the ceiling and another, Alice (Sophie Nélisse), not heeding the other teachers' importuning to vacate the school immediately, thereby catching a glimpse of the deceased teacher herself. Both of these students suffer from a certain degree of post traumatic stress disorder, a condition which certainly is appreciated by their new teacher, the titular Monsieur Lazhar (Fellag), a refugee from Algeria who has immigrated to Montreal.
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Monsieur-Lazhar-Blu-ray/45587/#Review
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