Lugo1989
Monsieur Lazhar is one of those little gems you wish to come across more often. The story is simple, beautiful and human. It is labelled as comedy/drama which is not exactly correct. It has all the elements of a serious drama, there are some jokes in between but it is hard to see it as a comedy.The film nicely shows what it is like to be an immigrant far away from home, the sacrifice, uncertainty and sometimes not being accepted for being different. It also realistically shows how to deal with loss and tragedy, how adults deal with it, how children deal with it and how they can help each other.The performances are brilliant all around, all the kids were really amazing and Mohamed Fellag who portrayed Mr. Lazhar really captured his character. The film is accompanied by beautiful recurring piano music that additionally adds to the power of this film. Recommended to everyone looking for something outside Hollywood production, something moving and beautiful.
brchthethird
Similar to another film which I watched recently, THE CLASS, MONSIEUR LAZHAR deals with the goings-on in a classroom and the students' relationship with their teacher. However, in contrast to the previous film, MONSIEUR LAZHAR focuses on something that was a little more intimate and relatable to someone who isn't French or French-Canadian. After a schoolteacher commits suicide in her classroom, the students are left in shock as well as in need of a new teacher. The substitute comes in the form of an Algerian immigrant, Bachir Lazhar. Although it is initially hard for the students to warm up to him, eventually they do and he helps them in their process of grieving in addition to having some of his own. One thing that struck me was just how unassuming this film actually was. I kind of expected it to be along the same lines as THE CLASS, but it ended up being a lot more emotionally involving, which I really liked. Grief is something that we all go through at some point in our lives, and seeing how it affects children was an interesting approach to take. Of course, the performances were all excellent, even from the child actors. The clear standout is Fellag, who played Monsieur Lazhar himself. There was a certain warmth and honesty in his performance, as well as subtle shades of melancholy. You got the sense that he was really affected by what happened in his past, and just as affected by what happened to his students. I'd also like to mention the score, which was quite minimal. Outside of some classical music, there really wasn't a whole lot. More importantly, the score never interferes with the film's many emotional moments, allowing them to be powerful on their own. The only issue I took with the film was that there could have been a little more screen time or information about Monsieur Lazhar, given that the film is named after him. I also was caught off-guard at how abruptly the film ended. Not that I needed any more closure, but I was so invested in the story that I kind of wish there had been a little more. Overall, I'd say this was about on par with THE CLASS, maybe edging it out slightly. It certainly isn't light viewing, but it is rewarding in its own way.
Marcin Kukuczka
Why do people complicate their motives? What strength lies behind different people's destinies? What is coincidental and what is prefabricated in life? What spiritual link may exist among humans who have gone through different traumas? Can you undergo a radical change in a new environment and remain true to yourself? These sort of thought provoking questions will evoke when seeing MONSIEUR LAZHAR - a film that may truly occur an illuminating discovery amongst recent productions.Directed by a newcomer Philippe Falardeau, it surprised me from the start. Seemingly, its school context can lead viewers to draw parallels, or even compare it with other films of the thematic concern. The Independent draws parallels with the Iranian production A Separation. Some find noticeable similarities with MONSIEUR MATTHIEU. The most striking movie quoted by many occurs to be DEAD POETS' SOCIETY. Indeed, certain plot aspects are common, like student/students-teacher relations, consultation with parents, the inner school system. Nevertheless, these are not the 'copies' where the movie's strengths really lie. These are not the themes returning again in a slightly different form and under a different title that prompt some movie critics label MONSIEUR LAZHAR "cinema at its most impactful" (Liam Maguren), "a reaffirmation of teacher's vocation" (Phillip French, The Observer). More to say, that would have never opened the way towards winning the City of Toronto Award and Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. What charm lies in MONSIEUR LAZHAR? I would condense it in three points: the portrayal of THE PROTAGONIST, the depiction of SCHOOLING and intensification of EMOTIONAL RESONANCE. PROTAGONIST: Roger Ebert states memorably that the film "has no simple questions and simple answers. Its purpose is to present us with a situation, explore the people involved and show us a man who is dealing with his own deep hurts." In media res, we get to know the protagonist and his environment. Beautifully depicted in an all in-depth portrayal by the Algerian comedian, writer and actor Mohamed Said Fellag, the title character Monsieur Lazhar is someone reliable and easy to identify with. As a refugee in Canada (the action takes place at Montreal), he is a newcomer at work and in the country. Equally, he strives to achieve the status of a reliable teacher and a reliable citizen. We may suspect that he has certain past behind him, a rather difficult past and memories from his homeland, but, as fate places him among the pupils whose trauma becomes clear to us at once, we discover him more and more. This mental discovery of the protagonist prompted within viewers is something very authentic with a memorable stimulus hidden within flawless action and clever script. Soon, we may agree with the statement of Phillip French in The Observer that "Lazhar is a man of tact, probity and a rich sense of humor." Taking responsibility for the class, the children who lost their previous teacher in the most 'nightmarish' circumstances, his arrival at the school rightly makes the whole film more and more thought provoking and convincing. In his encounter with his pupils, we discover the surprising fact that they, actually, have more in common than anyone would suspect. But the thing is, the little trick is to find this link. Anthony Quinn nicely points out about "a sympathetic balance between a child's view of schooling and an adult's." SCHOOLING: Again, let me quote Roger Ebert's strong but interesting line: " a teacher seems hardly allowed to be human." But in Monsieur Lazhar, this tact, probity and a rich sense of humor appear to be harmonious and excellently balanced. In the relations with parents and other teachers as well as his pupils, he is full of tact; his probity is clear in the way he treats his challenges (a few scenes show him at his desk correcting pupils' works) and a sense of humor is revealed at right places and at right time. Nevertheless, the critical view on schooling remains, the imposed rules, the usually inhumane requirements. Mind you the fact that the film actually ends with a hug, a hug of a teacher and a pupil, something forbidden at schools, yet something that rightly points out and stresses humanity needed in teacher-student relations. This humanity which is a key for healthy relations, austere methods of communicating thoughts. Here we could agree with a critic Critic Anne Hornaday of The Washington that the film "achieves its own sort of crystalline perfection – in simply telling the truth, and telling the truth simply." EMOTIONAL RESONANCE: It seems to be a primordial conclusion after viewing the film that the story, though difficult and tense, does not imprison the characters within the world of traumas but is directed towards the redemptive aspect of humanity in itself. Practically, no words or statutes or any power of mind helps the characters recover from difficulties but emotions. Something very human, something bound to criticism by the skeptical world of conventions, yet something true to human nature. The emotional resonance of the story is throughout a hidden character of the film, a backdrop presence that makes itself influential and significant. Handled memorably by the cast, including the youngsters who, thanks to undeniably effective rapport with the director, supply us with authentic display of emotions. Perhaps, it is most striking with Alice (Sophie Nelisse) but when we see the film from the standpoint of the protagonist, all the characters contribute powerfully to this target.All in all, an important film, a must see not only for teachers for whom it may work as inspirational achievement but for all viewers who like ambitious cinema.
