Overview
I'm usually pretty sceptical about films involving teachers who win the respect of their students against the odds. They can come across as a bit contrived and often pale in comparison to that old classic, Dead Poets Society. But Monsieur Lazhar is an different kind of classroom drama and one which very much holds its own.
It's bitterly cold winter in Montreal. Simon (Emilien Neron) is chatting to his friend Alice (Sophie Nelisse) in the playground when he remembers he's rostered on for milk duty. As he pushes the classroom door open to deliver the milk cartons he sees his teacher Martine hanging from the ceiling pipe, dead. He raises the alarm. The teachers try to prevent the students from entering the classroom but Sophie can't help herself, she slips in and takes a peek. The horror of this event haunts these two children in particular, leaving them to struggle to accept what has happened.
With the community still reeling, the Algerian Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag) turns up at the principal's office and talks his way into replacing the teacher. With his warm smile and old-fashioned ways Monsieur Lazhar is rather intriguing to his pupils, "Bachir means bearer of good news," he tells them. But they aren't immediately taken with him. He rearranges their desks from a semi-circle configuration into rigid straight rows. For dictation he recites from Balzac, the students complain loudly that it contains language which is prehistoric, something he later admits himself.
It's not just his different ways, the children are busy trying to make sense of their late teacher's suicide. The principal advises Lazhar to leave the therapy to the school guidance counsellor but he won't - he encourages the children to confront their grief. The viewer knows where Balzac gets his sense of empathy, he himself has suffered unbearable personal loss. The principal's way of handling the students is an interesting reflection on the Canadian education system. He's instructed that there is to be no touching in class, whether that be a pat on the shoulder or a reassuring hug. He ignores the request, and I dare say many people would, when faced with students in such emotional tormoil.
Lazhar's reason for seeking political asylum in Canada and his professional secret will eventually be revealed but in the meantime there are some thought-provoking and moving scenes between him and his students. Who is the child and who is the adult is a question which springs to mind when a child like Alice can articulate her thoughts in sometimes surprisingly mature ways. For such young actors Sophie Nelisse and Emilien Neron both show an impressive depth and are utterly convincing in their reactions to the suicide.
I liked this film and I'm not alone, it was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards. I would have preferred the story to build to more of a climax but nonetheless I think it's an engaging film with plenty of heart. Despite his professional failings, Lazhar is a teacher I would have loved to have had - someone who cares about the students' academic educaton as much as he values the idea of instilling humanity in them: "A classroom is a place of friendship, of work, of courtesy – yes, courtesy," he proclaims to the room of young minds.