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Monsieur Lazhar is another in a long line of inspirational teacher films set to show viewers that teachers are an unending source of inspiration and worldly advice. I have grown tired of this plot line and subsequent variations, but Monsieur Lazhar is a shining example of the inspirational teacher film and the poignancy of said films if executed correctly, with honesty and maturity.

Philippe Falardeau's (It's Not Me, I Swear and Congorama) film adaption of Evelyne de la Chenelière's play (she also plays Alice's mother), Monsieur Lazhar was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category as the official Canadian submission. The film tells the story of Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), an Algerian immigrant hired at Montreal public grade school after the original teacher was found hanging from the ceiling of her classroom. The teacher, Martine Lachance, was found by one of her students, Simon (Émilien Néron) while he was delivering milk to the classroom as he always does every Thursday. The film continues to show the effects of death and the ways that the children try to deal with the loss, but also their grief, which at times seem to be stifled by the school.

Monsieur Lazhar, at the same time, is dealing with a loss of his own; having come to Canada seeking asylum and waiting for his wife and children to join him, only to have his family killed the night before they were supposed to leave Algeria. The film cuts between Bachir in the classroom (having the children do a dictation of Balzac, rearranging their desks, etc.) and Bachir outside of the classroom (picking up his wife's belongings, preparing for a hearing, etc.). No one knows of his painful past, nor of his refugee status; the school is under the impression that he is a permanent resident of Canada.

Bachir notices, because of his current dealing with grief, that the children are trying to communicate or express their feelings about the death of their teacher. The school has brought on a psychologist to help the children come to grips with their loss. Bachir realizes that it is merely a stop-gap, but is told "not to make waves". He continues to witness things that lead him to believe that the children want to talk about their teacher, Martine and also of the trouble they are having trying to understand something that may well be beyond their comprehension.

Monsieur Lazhar is a heart-warming, but at the same time, heart-wrenching story of how people (whether it be children or adults) trying to come to terms with the loss of a family member (albeit for the children it was a teacher, but school, at that young age, can be something like a second home). Bachir, himself, uses a very personal and poignant short story, that he wrote himself and reads to his class, in an effort to say goodbye - something that Martine Lachance never did. The film features some great performances from Mohamed Fellag as Monsieur Lazhar, Émilien Néron as Simon - a guilt-ridden child that feels responsible for his teacher's suicide - and Sophie Nélisse as Alice, the surprisingly mature young girl that has the courage to speak about the effects of Martine's decisions.

Kevin FilmPulse.net

It was just in today's newspaper where it was reported that teachers here would be given a code of conduct which they have to adhere to. I can only guess what these guidelines are and perhaps how strait-jacketed they will be in reducing the teacher to being a pure administrator and educator, without vested personal emotions to his or her class, something that only a robot or cyborg can deliver, lessons without emotion. And it's uncanny that this was also one of the themes being featured in this Canadian-French movie, a powerful tale revolving around a makeshift teacher and his students, moving from a period of confusion, blame and tragedy, toward reconciliation and healing for both parties.

I'm pretty sure all of us have a favourite teacher, or teachers, throughout our education in schools and institutions, and I bet it is likely that they all happen to be very personable and approachable, not to mention dedicated and committed to seeing that their students do well. They have their own style, and despite some little oddities, are never lacking in effort and desire to teach, and impart knowledge. They may not adhere to the school's culture, and at times may even do things to the contrary of established rules, but save for the few bad hats with ulterior motives, there's no short of innovation in their lessons, or in this instance, somewhat trying to instill some old school techniques into a class that is comfortable with new methods of learning.

Beginning in very grim terms, this Canadian nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards has an elementary school student in Montreal chance upon his teacher's body, being hung from a pipe in their classroom in an apparent suicide. Why she had to do this, which is quite deliberate and knowing jolly well who would find her, is left to be debated, as the screenplay moves to deal with the aftermath of this tragedy, where a psychologist got hired for regular counselling sessions with that teacher's class, and any other school person who needed someone to talk to. For the principal, priority remains in getting a replacement teacher, and he comes in the form of the titular Lazhar (Mohamed Fellaq), who walked in to offer his services, having an impressive educator's record.

But there's more to Monsieur Lazhar as we would soon find out, as one of the rare male figures in a school led predominantly by female educators. Tragedy seems to connect teacher and class together, and through their semester together, learn how to cope with their demons in their own ways. The relationship building between teacher and student is just about what's best about this moving drama, in addition to having to tackle some politics of the day, especially when Lazhar administers some vigilante styled discipline of his own, before being lectured to stick to the code of conduct and guidelines. Which mirrors how power has shifted these days from teachers, once feared in the classroom, to the students and protective parents who will have no qualms at taking on the teacher, principal and anyone else in the educational hierarchy.

Mohamed Fellaq puts in a superb performance as the titular character, and we share in his earnest efforts at doing his best despite not being what he truly is., and grieve with him during his most personal of times during the movie. writer-director Philippe Falardeau (who also did It's Not Me, I Swear!) adopts a somewhat documentary feel when dealing with scenes involving the classroom, sort of reminiscent of the Cannes Film Festival 2008 Palme d'Or winner The Class, with a myriad of student characters performed by very charismatic young actors and actresses boasting naturalness in their delivery, that it makes it seem like a real class rather than a rehearsed one. It is this interaction, as well as painful revelation, that makes Monsieur Lazhar a little heart-wrenching to sit through.

This film has what it takes to be one of the 5 entries in Oscar 2012 foreign film category. Unlike another french film 'un class', Monsieur Lazhar deals with the issue of moving on from a tragic event, to continue carrying out the role of teaching schoolchildren.

I am only half correct to say that this movie deals with the healing process, because while it seems to be that way, observers will realize that it is not quite possible to heal the wounds of all parties, due to bureaucracy, conflicts and cultural differences. And it is not possible to pretend that nothing has happened either. What I find fascinating about this film is that it chose not to be too ambitious in finding a good conclusion, but introduces all the elements of restraint and helplessness by the characters.

However, the movie offered surprises especially in the development of certain characters. Even though I disagreed with some of the support methods carried out (the movie sometimes forget these kids were below 12 years old) and I would have hoped to see more positive aftermath from the movie, the ending was very satisfying, when Lazhar, given the compromising situation, decides to give his classroom something that their previous teacher failed to do.

This film won Canada's Genie for best film and deserved it. The story is simple and profound, contemporary and timeless at the same time. After the suicide of a grade school class teacher, a new teacher appears ready to take over the class. An Algerian immigrant, Monsieur Lazhar brings such a deep humanity to his job, that the traumatized kids are able to come to terms in some ways with what has happened. What they don't realize is how much their new teacher knows of their pain first hand.

Fellag's performance as the title character is note perfect and gigantic. The children are astonishing and the final scene, the final moment will crush even the most stoic viewer's resolve not to weep.

Monsieur Lazhar (2011)

A very straightforward, somewhat predictable film that is so nicely made, and has such an oddly charming main character, you'll likely go along happily all the way. I don't think it's some kind of gem or masterpiece, as much as I was thrilled at the ending, which means it built me up beautifully up to that point.

We might see two common genres mixed here. One is the school drama, with the inevitable starring teacher and a student or two who causes trouble, either literally or of the illicit love type. Then there is the immigrant story, especially an illegal, and the necessary subterfuges and adaptations all around. So the main character, Bachir, is a newly arrived Algerian immigrant who lands, by charm and perseverance, a job as a teacher in the a Montreal school. He is replacing a woman who committed suicide by hanging herself in her classroom (with the students at recess).

All this is told quickly, with high drama of course (suicide is none but). And there is a tragic desperation injected right away. Even the students carry this on, traumatized and yet still children, fussing and jerking their way forward in their own odd (and lovable) ways.

So the teacher adjusts, slowly, getting to the know the students and their psychological trappings. He also is coming to terms with his own situation (a couple of dull immigration meetings are shown, and though maybe necessary, maybe not). Other teachers watch and sometimes help, or try to get to know him. He meanwhile wins over the reclucant class of kids.

I'm actually telling a bit of the story and leaving out what matters most—the compelling leading man, who is a show of his own, restrained and awkward and sympathetic. But I'm also letting on that these events are one we've seen many times before. There are some small twists, and there is a high level of steady (and sincere) competence at work, but we do have a familiar tale at the bottom.

Well done? Yes. Commanding? Mostly, yes. Moving and new? Sometimes. It's worth seeing if you like low key, serious, contemporary films.

What happens when a class of 6th graders loses their beloved teacher to suicide? What happens when an Algerian immigrant applies to be their new teacher in a culture he is just beginning to understand? What is behind the teacher's stillness, his smile and his sad eyes? This film is a beautiful rendering of a stage play about love and loss, but also about hope. In this wonderfully-told story, the hope isn't trite, contrived or artificial. It's something you almost have to feel. It comes from the growing relationship between this strange teacher in a strange land, and his student children, so in need of his help.

The movie's cast is rich with great acting, by the kids of course, but here, if anything, they're outshone by Algerian actor Mohamed Fellag, whose face tells 1000 stories about where he has been and, perhaps, where he hopes to go.

The only things not perfect are the characters, for this writer and director have been too careful to give them - even the "best" of the children - no flaws. They are all more good than bad, but also complex in their own way, suffering the loss of one teacher and the growing pains of learning to learn from another.

This film gets my vote for Best Foreign Language Film, even over the excellent A Separation. Don't miss it!

Monsieur Lazhar is based on a play by Evelyne de la Cheneliere and it is a Canadian film in French with English subtitles. The film is about an immigrant from Algeria named Bachir Lazhar, who applies for a job at the local elementary school when there is a position open. In desperate need of a new teacher, the school hires him and Bachir starts shortly after. He is teaching a grade six class and what he was not prepared for is that several of the students are still in a state of grief because the previous teacher died and they were all quite attached to her and that is why the position was open and how he got the job. Bachir has a different teaching method than the class's previous teacher and a lot of what he says and does seems different to the students and a lot of what the curriculum and how the students behave and just life in Canada in general is somewhat strange to Bachir, having lived most of his life in Algeria. Putting those differences beside, Bachir tries to move on and be the best teacher that he can and soon he starts to warm up to the children in his class and he seems to get through to several of them as well and they start to really like him. However both at school in his classroom and even in his personal life, Bachir will have to deal with memories from the past, both of his own and his students and teach them how to grieve and deal with death as he has to face some of his own demons and personal problems as well. Over the years there have been many films made about inspirational teachers who win over classrooms of at once reluctant, or delinquent students only to have a big happy ending at the end. Some of those type of films have worked in the past and some have not. However, I find that it is a premise and plot device that has been used perhaps too often in films and is starting to get predictable and clichéd. I am very happy to say that Monsieur Lazhar avoided all that and went through a different formula with it's storytelling. Yes, it is about a teacher who has to win over his students, but there is so much more to the story as well. For one thing everything in this Montreal town in Quebec, is very foreign to Bachir, but he has a lot of self esteem and determination to set out and do his best for not only himself, but his students as well. He wants to leave behind his troubled past and start something new, which is hard at first, but he is giving his best effort to make it work. In dealing with the children he has a calm and very likable quality to him when he is teaching them. He generally also wants what is best for his students and for them to succeed not only in his class, but further along in life as well. What prevents this from coming together is the painful memories of the student's beloved first teacher who died just before Bachir, took the job. The school has counselors come in and the parents all try to do their best with the children and help them with the grief, guilt, sadness and other emotions that they are feeling, but unbeknownst to all of them, that the one who can truly relate to this incident and be the most help to the children at this time is Bachir, who is just getting to know the children and has never met the previous teacher, or really know anything about her. Putting the cultural and personal differences beside, he can reach these children in surprising and uplifting ways. This is a film just as much about death and how it not only affects children, but everyone else as well. How the film shows the different individuals trying to cope with it and how it doesn't always work, or perhaps takes more time for some than others, is an accurate picture and more lifelike and precise which I also appreciated about the film. The film plays everything quite quiet and low key, but the emotion we get out of the actors, and from the great script and direction is priceless. I felt extremely moved by the end of this film and felt that I got to know these characters and share their grief, heartaches and also loves and happiness. Bachir, himself is also a very interesting character with kind eyes and a warm smile and I really got to like him and his character throughout the movie. He is brilliantly played by Mohamed Fellag, who does a quiet and low key character, but with a lot of depth and feeling. It's a great performance. The performances from all the children are great in here as well. I liked this film because I think so many people will be able to relate and connect to it on several different levels, but we are also given a tremendous piece of entertainment to go along with it. I liked that this film took chances with what it talked about and showed us and ends up turning out to be quite relevant and relatable. The film will probably please most adult viewers and older teens may get a lot out of it as well. Even a day after seeing this film I still thought about it quite a lot and about the hold and power it held over me. At times happy, sad and overall an experience that I would certainly recommend. One of 2011's best films.

'Monsieur Lazhar' tells a beautiful and gentle story of a sixth-grade class whose students are trying to cope with the suicide of their previous teacher, Martine. And their new teacher, Bashir Lazhar, is trying to cope with the death of his family. The class and Lazhar, both prove to be mutually beneficial to each other in coping with their losses.

It's discussions on loss (death), violence and student-teacher relationships are intriguing.

Mohamed Fellag gives an amazing performance as the new teacher, Monsieur Lazhar and holds the movie together. All the kids are charming in the movie, especially the kid Emilien Neron, playing the role of Simon, who gives a refreshing and appealing performance.

Few scenes, like the one in which Lazhar lets himself loose to the music played downstairs and starts dancing, the one where the class picture is being taken with everyone saying aloud the word 'Bashir' instead of 'Cheese', the one in which Simon finally lets out his emotions in class and the climax scene, stay in your mind long after the movie is over.

Canada's entry for 2012's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, "Monsieur Lazhar" is a quiet, sweet and deceptively simple film that tells the story of Bachir Lazhar, an Algerian refugee who offers his services as a substitute teacher for an elementary school class that has lost its teacher. The circumstances of the teacher's death, the students' and staff's reaction to it, and Lazhar's own back-story combine to create a compelling film that has a lot to say about the barriers we place between ourselves and our children today.

Mohammd Fellag, an Algerian comedian, writer and humorist, portrays Monsieur Lazhar, and is surrounded by an exceptional cast of juvenile actors, led by Sophie Nelisse and Emilien Neron. The performances in this film are uniformly superb which, given the subject matter, is quite an accomplishment (particularly for the young actors portraying the classmates.)

Lazhar's attempts to deal with his students' grief, their cultural and educational differences, the rigid requirements of an educational system, and his own difficulties and loss all culminate in a final scene of incredible power and emotion - the power of one person to connect with another, the power of one act to convey incredible meaning.

"Monsieur Lazhar" is worthy of the honors it has received and worth a trip to the theatre.

www.worstshowontheweb.com

about small things. show of nuances. and lesson. about height of pain. about state of stranger in a strange country or situation. touching, subtle, profound. extremely delicate. picture of a world and discuss about values. a velvet and silk story. about rules of society. about cold rules and warm feelings. about fear, force of memories and limits. about circle of gestures facts. about solitude and fragility. or, only, a good script and a remarkable performance of each actor. a special event. and window to a form of salt happiness. must see it ! because a review is not enough to describe the flavor, wonderful flavor of this trip in the essence of fight against yourself.

"Monsieur Lazhar" is a sweet little film about an Algerian refugee who, after the suicide of a well-loved teacher, finds his way into the school to take over the class and eventually finds his way into the lives and hearts of the students shaken by an expected and complicated loss.

Written and directed by Philippe Falardeau, the film does not try to be something more than an observation, which is nice and refreshing. It definitely has a message to say, along with throwing some political nudges along the way, but it doesn't come across of overbearing and contrived, trying to make the audience feel more than they do. Fellag, in the title role, is a strong actor and quite the casting coup for this film. That, matched with a group of kids who are not irritating in the least, as so many child actors are, led me to be quite entertained.

However, I did just find this to be a sweet little film. For the second year in a row, Canada has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and although it doesn't even have a remote chance of winning, I don't think this film is quite deserving of such an honour to be bestowed on it. It may very well be the best Canadian film of the year, but I am reticent in thinking it was truly one of the best non-English films by any country worldwide.

But it's sweet.

Saw this last night as part of a Canadian Film Festival. It's a real gem that negotiates it's way around trauma and intimacy with tact while never preaching. It's a true humanist film in that it attempts to deal with the real issues of being a human being in a realistic and sympathetic way. I'm a fan of Ken Loach, but at times he can make his films too didactic. This movie never does that. The performances are universally excellent and it's open ended structure allows you to go away with multiple endings to think through. I wanted to know so much more about Mr Lazhar after the story ends. Similar to A Separation in many ways and also its equal.

Here again is an amazing French language film about children....This film brings up so many issues about the state of education in our modern society... the role of the teacher, the administrators, the parents, in the development of our kids... and our society. And the children in this film are all wonderful... smart, caring, funny, and mischievous. I wonder, hypothetically, what children become without someone like MONSIEUR LAZHAR in their lives. I think more and more children have fewer adult role models to look up to. Everyone is so busy, cornered in their own boxes, afraid to step out of bounds, with no time to give...It makes for a secluded...secular world...

This film is about a substitute teacher who fills in after a class teacher hanged herself inside the classroom.

"Monsieur Lazhar" tells how people in the school cope after a tragedy. The children react in different ways, some leave the school, some talk about it and some act out. It is a challenge for Mr Lazhar, who has a traumatic past but he does not show this aspect of him in the classroom. Mr Lazhar's tragedy is brutal and spine chilling. However, the irony is that his tragedy is so understated in the film, that it almost appears that his traumatic past in Algeria is insignificant in a suburban Canadian community. Maybe this is to highlight different people have different perspectives and different problems to worry about.

Canadian director Philippe Falardeau's film "Monsieur Lazhar" has not only proved to be a huge box office success but also managed to elicit favorable reviews from film critics.All this positive response has helped to create an advantageous environment for his film.In the wake of such a fabulous success,it is somewhat difficult for an independent observer to express a dissenting opinion.However,popularity of a work of art is not the only real indicator of its true worth.It is in this sense that film critic Lalit Rao viewed this film during 5th Bangalore International Film Festival 2012. As a popular film with a compassionate message,Monsieur Lazhar suffers from various glaring inaccuracies which recur throughout the film.Most of them are related to the appointment and firing from the job of the film's protagonist.Hence,it can be said that the entire film can fall flat on its face if this error is noticed by many viewers.The portrayal of a school teacher and his work environment is also highly predictable and leaves a lot to be desired. However,as a last remark,it can be said that it is through a tremendous acting performance by Algerian actor Fellag that "Monsieur Lazhar" is able to overcome its weaknesses.

An extraordinary potential story.

A refugee with a traumatic past finds his way as a teacher to a middle school class whose teacher has died. All the elements for a great film but only half developed.

Could be a stunning film, but now only a "coulda-shoulda".

What an opportunity for an editor!

And it is all there in vitro.

With the info the viewer has it is too little to judge. What actually happened we will never know.

Could have been a contender.

This absorbing film, set in Montreal, ties together two tragedies and by such a linkage shows our capacity for human understanding and emotional empathy. While that may sound excessively depressing to some readers, I found a semblance of hope in this film as the characters, both young and old, try to move on with their lives and cope as best they can, and while the trauma may be a permanent part of their psyches, their seeming resilience conveys a kind of worldly maturity and acceptance.

The film opens with two school children discovering a favorite, but troubled, teacher who has hung herself in her classroom while her students are at recess. Psychologists are brought in to help the students cope with the emotional intensity of such a tragedy, and then later a Mr. Bachir Lazhar, an Algerian immigrant, presents himself to the principal as a suitable replacement for the suicide victim's class telling her how he's followed the school's trauma in the newspapers and he's available to help. Does he need the work (we find out his legal status is uncertain and he's in danger of being deported) or is some unconscious empathetic force driving him toward working with these students since he seems to understand their pain? The school authorities prefer to move on from the tragic event while Mr. Lazhar can sense after a number of months that some of his students are dwelling on their former teacher's act and her reasons for doing so; he encourages them to talk in class about their feelings and for this he is rebuked. We eventually discover the horrific tragedy surrounding his own family and why he's fled to Canada, and from this we can understand and appreciate his empathy for his students and his understanding of their emotional plight ("why did she do it in her own classroom during school?"). The film has many touching moments as this strange Algerian immigrant explains the "unexplainable" to his students and they in turn seem to provide him with an emotional outlet, and a purpose, to counter his own suffering.

Some reviewers have questioned the film's seeming lack of total emotional resolution, but life can be open-ended. Will these children completely heal (as much as they can) and will Mr. Lazhar's half-year encounter with these kindred souls give him the emotional basis for sustaining a meaningful life in a foreign environment? We don't really know, but some of the signs that the film depicts seem to be favorable. A very worthy film from Canada!