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Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, Special Edition, SYNOPSIS: The greatest lessons are learnt when life enters the classroom. The tense environment of a tough inner-city school where cultures and attitudes often clash is revealed in this award-winning drama based on François Bégaudeau's best-selling novel Between the Walls. Bégaudeau himself stars as an idealistic teacher of a class of unruly 15 year-olds, whose spiky independence present a constant challenge to his sometimes unconventional teaching methods. Featuring an outstanding non-professional cast of real teachers and students, Laurent Cantet's gripping and sharply observed film offers a microcosm of contemporary society and explores the issues and challenges of education today. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cannes Film Festival, European Film Awards, Oscar Academy Awards, ...The Class ( Entre les murs )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By C. MacLellan
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
The Plot
Working in a tough Parisian suburb, teacher François Marin (François Bégaudeau) thinks that he can turn around the fortunes of his unruly class. That is until his class turn on him.
The Review
The winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival should definitely come with a health warning prior to viewing. It should warn all potential teachers to avoid watching the film, as once they watch it, they're likely to be put off teaching for life. They should then be provided with an emergency copy of School of Rock and a tub of Ben and Jerry's.
The Class's original French title, Entre les murs, or Between The Walls, is probably a better title for the film, as the classroom at its centre serves as a cauldron of clashes, not only between the teacher and his 24 students, but between the students themselves. During the school year, there are many ups and downs, with the cauldron continuing to bubble and boil over at certain points. What makes the film all the more brilliant is that this could be any class, in any school.
François Bégaudeau has the real life experience, having written a book on his time in the classroom and this comes across in his performance in the lead role. He is an idealist, constantly pushing the boulder up the hill, simply for it to continue slipping back down. The use of real students, teachers and parents also adds to the authenticity of the film.
The Verdict
A lesson in conflict and communication, The Class has much to teach us about education and attitudes towards it.
Working in a tough Parisian suburb, teacher François Marin (François Bégaudeau) thinks that he can turn around the fortunes of his unruly class. That is until his class turn on him.
The Review
The winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival should definitely come with a health warning prior to viewing. It should warn all potential teachers to avoid watching the film, as once they watch it, they're likely to be put off teaching for life. They should then be provided with an emergency copy of School of Rock and a tub of Ben and Jerry's.
The Class's original French title, Entre les murs, or Between The Walls, is probably a better title for the film, as the classroom at its centre serves as a cauldron of clashes, not only between the teacher and his 24 students, but between the students themselves. During the school year, there are many ups and downs, with the cauldron continuing to bubble and boil over at certain points. What makes the film all the more brilliant is that this could be any class, in any school.
François Bégaudeau has the real life experience, having written a book on his time in the classroom and this comes across in his performance in the lead role. He is an idealist, constantly pushing the boulder up the hill, simply for it to continue slipping back down. The use of real students, teachers and parents also adds to the authenticity of the film.
The Verdict
A lesson in conflict and communication, The Class has much to teach us about education and attitudes towards it.
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Class, a passionate film that blurs the line between fiction and reality
15 May 2009
By Elias M
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
The Class, set in a tough, ethnically diverse comprehensive school on the edge of Paris, follows a group of students and their teacher, whose interactions with one another are sometimes amicable and, at other times, combative. The Class is neither a documentary nor is it, strictly speaking, a docudrama. It is a drama which blurs the line between fiction and reality. Cantet achieved the film's true-to-life feel by using real kids and their teachers from Francoise Dolto Junior High in Paris's 20th arrondissement instead of actors - in much the same tradition as Gillo Pontecorvo's masterpiece, The Battle of Algiers; Ken Loach's Poor Cow and Kes; and more recently Saul Dibb's Bullet Boy. These directors were successful in "engineering" an understated simplicity in their works, as well as creating a heightened sense of realism, achieved by using non-actors to play the main roles, and diverging from a written script. In an interview Cantet revealed no dialogue was written, although a framework story for the students was provided. He also held weekly improv sessions for eight months with the actors, including Francois Begaudeau (who plays the teacher, and also authored the novel and co-authored the screenplay). This process created a sense of spontaneity in each of the scenes. The Class was made with the relatively low budget of 2.3 million euros: It was shot using three high definition cameras (one pointed at the teacher, another on the student at the centre of the scene, and a third camera poised to capture moments of digression).
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By William Cohen
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
I didn't know whether this film was a documentary or a drama, it turns out that it's the latter, but its appeal is that it feels like reality and evokes the dilemmas and problems experienced by teachers in a secondary school.
It's long, but I stuck with it and it's very satisfying. I don't know how they managed to act it so beautifully, the teacher, Mr Marin, is superb. You really get into his shoes and feel his idealism and his frustration. You see when he makes a mistake by calling two pupils- petasses - and you can see the trouble that's coming. I also enjoyed the perspective on teaching children from many different cultures. Also, it's a great way to refresh your French as there is loads of dialogue which is clear and engaging.
It's long, but I stuck with it and it's very satisfying. I don't know how they managed to act it so beautifully, the teacher, Mr Marin, is superb. You really get into his shoes and feel his idealism and his frustration. You see when he makes a mistake by calling two pupils- petasses - and you can see the trouble that's coming. I also enjoyed the perspective on teaching children from many different cultures. Also, it's a great way to refresh your French as there is loads of dialogue which is clear and engaging.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By jrhartley
Format:DVD
I had been looking forward to seeing this film since first hearing about its achievements at Cannes in 2008. The story is loosely based on the book "Entre Les Murs" - between the walls, François Marin is a teacher in a school for special needs / wayward and disadvantaged children, many of them from France's overseas territories or former colonies.
The first hour or so the film develops well, introducing the main protagonists and the inevitable tensions between them all starting to build - François's frustrations at their inattention to his teachings, the student's frustrations at his inability to empathise and defend them against bad behaviour charges, the frictions of a new boy from the West Indies arriving and clashing with the existing top student dog from Mali, the risk of the class itself turning the tables on the teacher and seeing him expelled from the school.... you have the feeling that the film is building to a crescendo.
I don't want to spoil the movie for others by revealing the end, but all I will say is that, as is so typically the case with some modern 'art house' French cinema, there seems to be a huge reticence to leave anything on the cutting room floor. The scene where the teachers were voting on the future of Souleymane is verging on OTT as the camera follows the transparent ballot box around the teachers and they drop in their folded voting slips. I expect the director may believe there is huge visual metaphor in that - the 'supposed transparency yet closedness' of the school disciplinary process, but I found it laboured and pretentious. And disappointingly, after about 75 minutes in, this is how the films goes, overly ponderous and lingering.... Read more ›
The first hour or so the film develops well, introducing the main protagonists and the inevitable tensions between them all starting to build - François's frustrations at their inattention to his teachings, the student's frustrations at his inability to empathise and defend them against bad behaviour charges, the frictions of a new boy from the West Indies arriving and clashing with the existing top student dog from Mali, the risk of the class itself turning the tables on the teacher and seeing him expelled from the school.... you have the feeling that the film is building to a crescendo.
I don't want to spoil the movie for others by revealing the end, but all I will say is that, as is so typically the case with some modern 'art house' French cinema, there seems to be a huge reticence to leave anything on the cutting room floor. The scene where the teachers were voting on the future of Souleymane is verging on OTT as the camera follows the transparent ballot box around the teachers and they drop in their folded voting slips. I expect the director may believe there is huge visual metaphor in that - the 'supposed transparency yet closedness' of the school disciplinary process, but I found it laboured and pretentious. And disappointingly, after about 75 minutes in, this is how the films goes, overly ponderous and lingering.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truthful portrait of French schools
I liked this movie because it delivers a truthful portrait of French schools, focusing on its classes made of students of different countries and cultures. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Francesco De Nicola
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astonishing.
I don't think I can fault this film. It's instantly involving, the acting is impeccable, and it's political allegory is so subtle and just perfect - never patronising or preaching... Read more
Published 17 months ago by DanielJohnson
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Class
The High School film where an idealistic young teacher meets up with a bunch of tough kids is a well worn genre. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Moonlit
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very important movie
Excellent movie and an example of social realism at its best and how refreshing it was to watch a film that portrayed the lives of ordinary people. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2010 by Gary 78
4.0 out of 5 stars
Killed in translation
Although a lot of the action takes place in the classroom, the film is really about what can go wrong when a school or college ignores what's going on in the community outside. Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by Robert Sheed
3.0 out of 5 stars
It great, but only for one night
In a nutshell: The Class is a good movie, which I quite enjoyed watching mainly because of its charming main character, Begaudeau who teaches a multi-ethnic Parisian high school... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2010 by L. Frank
4.0 out of 5 stars
Reality Check
I went to see this film with teaching colleagues. I found it scarily true to my own experience as did all the others.
I was inspired to comment because of WILLOW's review. Read more
I was inspired to comment because of WILLOW's review. Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2010 by storm
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fantastic must-see movie
I didn't know much about the film before watching it and so didn't know what to expect. I was largely able to forget that this isn't actually a documentary and became completely... Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2010 by Bookish
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought provoking and scary
A very good film to watch. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't find this at all ponderous or too talky. Instead, it was thought provoking and scarily accurate. Read more
Published on 23 Dec 2009 by 3inarow
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scarily Accurate...i should know!!!
Now before i begin i should point out that i did not actually see all of this film, only the last hour, however, it sent chills down my spine. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2009 by Andrew Ross
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