The Class

[Boner M]

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/theclass/

This year's Palm D'Or winner, from Laurent 'Time Out' Cantet. Seemingly everyone who's seen Season 4 of The Wire says it suffers in comparison, but I'm still hopeful.

[Ezee E]

I'll see it at the Denver Film Festival in two weeks.

[number8]

That's not fair. Anything suffers in comparison to Season 4 of The Wire.

[Boner M]

Good film. Turns out the only TV show this actually pales in comparison to is Australia's Office-like mock-doco comedy series Summer Heights High, which managed to create the same level of naturalism in its classroom scenes even with a 30-something white dude essentially in blackface. Fortunately, Cantet's gifts lie in manipulating his almost anti-dramatic raw material into something that feels dramatic. The classroom banter, especially in the film's early stages, is always lively, sometimes even achieving a nearly His Girl Friday-esque level of verbal pyrotechnics. It's also to his credit that the classroom functions as a microcosm for a broader society without the characters having an allegorical function imposed upon them. Not really sure about the lyricism of the final shot; seemed to be reaching for a transcendence that wasn't entirely there.

Ultimately, I think the film's virtues are flaws in some insidious, obverse way; the film is so non-judgemental and non-melodramatic that its reticence sorta made me wish for something more challenging or even objectionable. I can't imagine that discussion for the film in this thread will exceed past page 1. I did very much like the film, just sayin' is all.

[number8]

Hey, Summer Heights High fan! I saw this movie before I saw that show. You're right, kind of similar and both absolutely brilliant.

[lovejuice]

i like what it's rather than what it aspires to be. really enjoy its laid-back documentary tone until "the conflict" flares up. then the film loses me. some potential here and there. really like the issue with "word" and "meaning," especially since the main character is a language teacher.

perhaps i'm not entirely fair since my aversion is based on how unsatisfied i am with the way they resolve the conflict. or more precisely how the said resolution is handled.
i am really pushed back by the "i don't learn anything" comment at the end. feels too much like they want to hammer the no-happy-ending message.
and i already ranted too much. the film's good really. just perhaps doesn't meet my expectation.

[number8]

My interview w/ the director. (http://www.justpressplay.net/movies/movie-news/4813-talking-qthe-classq-with-director-laurent-cantet.html)

[lovejuice]

The Class (2008) **½

care to elaborate? we two seem to be the only people here who have a more than lukewarm reaction to the film.

[Raiders]

I have, sadly, almost absolutely nothing to say about this movie. It is a fiction film that strives so hard to be a faux-documentary it doesn't even bother to edit out instances where characters show an awareness of the camera. It respectfully shows the "drama" and does so without much, if any, didacticism and I can see how many around the world would find it such a compelling film. But, ultimately, it just didn't leave much of an impression upon me. I think Armond White, shockingly enough, is on to something when he calls the film "racist" inasmuch as the filmmakers condescend by treating the students as victims of a system and a society where they are not accepted. The film, by never taking us outside the walls of the school, fails to elucidate on any of the broader symptoms of their behavior and rarely indicts any one individual for the choices they make (and even further, as perviously mentioned, the "I didn't learn anything" remark feels dishonest and the student's reading of the book is almost treated like a moral victory without the filmmakers holding the student accountable). The only character where the repercussions are felt is the earnest, white teacher whose late-film weakness in anger is shaming in the film.

I don't know. Maybe I just wasn't on the film's wavelength or maybe these kind of pseudo-documentary films aren't really my thing. They just seem like a wasted opportunity. There's so much material for the filmmakers to really "say something" and instead they seem content to present the poor situation and allow the audience to do all the heavy lifting.

[Boner M]

I have, sadly, almost absolutely nothing to say about this movie.
Heh.

That aside, I'm completely on your wavelength, albeit slightly more appreciative. I guess it's the film's universal acclaim that makes me linger on the negative.

[Sycophant]

I'm going to make a point of seeing this one when it finally makes its way to my town. Must say the trailer made it look pretty awful.

[DavidSeven]

Must say the trailer made it look pretty awful.

This. I mean, are there really no standalone moments in the entire film that approach something remotely intelligent, interesting, original, witty, or engaging? I could accept this lack of substance (in the trailer) if I thought they were trying to market it to the masses, but I can't imagine this trailer being appealing to anyone.

[lovejuice]

It is a fiction film that strives so hard to be a faux-documentary...
and that too is my problem.

it manipulates us so damn much to stand by the mali student's side. yes, it provides some background via other teachers that he's quite a troublemaker. but said background is meaningless in light of what's shown in the film -- he jokes good-nature-ly about the teacher's sexuality, and we have some glimpse of his creativity.

at the end the main teacher goes out of his character to make himself despicable -- calling the girls name and blowing his fuse on the basketball court -- so we sympathize more with the student. all that so at the end we are supposed to feel bad and "learn-no-lesson"-ish? to me that just totally rings fault note.

[NickGlass]

Who says the film has to say something grand? I certainly didn't need to do any "heavy lifting" to find this a satisfying experience. The laissez-faire approach works perfectly for this film. The success, I believe, is within its sheer observation and lack of overstatement or sentiment. Generational conflict and race aren't "dealt with" as much as they simply exist.

It is refreshing, as well, to see a depiction of a classroom that actually feels like a classroom. The rapid banter, the flip-flopping power structure, the misunderstandings, the frustration, the struggle for patience, and the condescension (from all parties) all organically blend together to create a plausible and enthralling representation of the complex relationship between teachers and students.

[NickGlass]

This. I mean, are there really no standalone moments in the entire film that approach something remotely intelligent, interesting, original, witty, or engaging? I could accept this lack of substance (in the trailer) if I thought they were trying to market it to the masses, but I can't imagine this trailer being appealing to anyone.

I agree that the trailer goes from poor to absolutely horrendous (that concluding montage with each student and their name? This isn't High School freakin' Musical), but the film is very fluid and everything works in context.

[DavidSeven]

I agree that the trailer goes from poor to absolutely horrendous (that concluding montage with each student and their name? This isn't High School freakin' Musical), but the film is very fluid and everything works in context.

Figured as much given the critical reception. Wish they could have tapped into at least part of why it has been such a hit.

[NickGlass]

Figured as much given the critical reception. Wish they could have tapped into at least part of why it has been such a hit.

It's nothing you could show in a two-minute montage. In fact, that's part of the reason I love the film--it's not "packaged" in any way, really.

[lovejuice]

to give credit where it's due, one thing i really like is the pregnant teacher who doesn't mind if her student is a minority or an illegal immigrant as long as he's well-behaved and smart. but for one who is neither, she can be quite narrow-minded. 'tis a flaw i have witnessed in many real-life teachers. the film touching on this is honest and fresh.