A month ago in my Friday’s Finest segment I presented an article about The Book Thief – a movie about a young girl living with her adoptive German family during the Nazi era. It’s a wonderful family film which my children and I enjoyed twice over the Christmas holidays. I wrote how the young actress Marie-Sophie Nélisse (at the bottom – centre in the above image) was stellar in that film and low and behold just a week or so later I saw her again in today’s featured film – the Canadian French-language drama film called Monsieur Lazhar.
Monsieur Lazhar (English title: Professor Lazhar) tells the story of an Algerian refugee in Montreal who steps in to teach at an elementary school after the former full-time teacher dies by suicide. Professor Lazhar is like the antithesis of the ludicrousness and unrealism of the more popularly known School of Rock, offering a sobering and deeply human portrayal of the teacher-student relationship. While School of Rock thrives on exaggerated rebellion and comedic chaos, Professor Lazhar delves into the emotional complexities of education, grief, and resilience. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2011 Academy Awards.
IMDB Storyline:
Bachir Lazhar, an Algerian immigrant, is hired to replace an elementary school teacher who died tragically. While the class goes through a long healing process, nobody in the school is aware of Bachir’s painful former life; nor that he is at risk of being deported at any moment. Adapted from Evelyne de la Cheneliere’s play, Bachir Lazhar depicts the encounter between two distant worlds and the power of self-expression. Using great sensitivity and humor, Philippe Falardeau follows a humble man who is ready to transcend his own loss in order to accompany children beyond the silence and taboo of death.
The following two paragraphs were extracted from the Wikipedia reference below:
The source material Bachir Lazhar is a one-character play, making it a challenge to adapt for the screen. However, the producers attended a performance with director Philippe Falardeau, and Falardeau expressed excitement about making a film version. Bachir Lazhar author Évelyne de la Chenelière suggested Falardeau cast comedian Mohamed Fellag as the protagonist. Falardeau learned how to contact Fellag by researching the comedian’s YouTube videos. Falardeau said he continuously consulted de la Cheneliere, allowing her to review screenplay drafts.
It was shot in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Montreal. There were 28 days of shooting, about an average time for a film to be shot in Quebec. The principal filming occurred in the summer so the production could use the school and so the educations of the child actors were not disrupted. Four of the shooting days occurred in the winter. Child actress Sophie Nélisse turned 10 shortly before shooting began.
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). Mohamed Fellaq puts in a superb performance as the new incumbent ‘teacher’, and we share in his earnest efforts at doing his best despite not being fully open about what he truly is or which his past contains.
This movie has a documentary feel when dealing with scenes involving the classroom, 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. 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. I forwarded a trailer of the movie below.
References:
1. Monsieur Lazhar – IMDB
2. Profesor Lazhar – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
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