A beautiful and unspectacular movie that covers various serious topics and puts them in the right perspective. Although the story does offer it, the movie avoids falling into the sentimentality trap.
It is the story of an Algerian immigrant into Canada, who takes over a primary school class in Montreal, after the former teacher has committed suicide. In mostly short and unsentimental scenes we see the challenges and prejudices that a person coming from a different cultural background is confronted with.
There are certain parents who doubt that a foreigner can be the right person for educating their offspring. Likewise, there is an otherwise likeable fellow teacher, who confuses a forced emigration with an adventure trip that adds some spice and color to the journey of life. Monsieur Lazhar dissents vehemently by stating that being a refugee means being without roots and feeling disoriented in the new "homeland".
At this point of the movie, we know already that Monsieur Lazhar knows what he is talking about, because we have seen his case at the immigration authorities. There he is confronted with a considerable amount of distrust regarding his life being endangered in Algeria despite the big personal losses he had to go through.
And then this deeply traumatized man, who is fighting for his dignity, is the only person who finds the right key to the wounded souls of his students, who are also in a way traumatized by the suicide that happened to take place right in their own classroom. It seems that it needs pain to correctly deal with pain.
The portrayal of these children is another strong aspect of the movie. Unlike in many other movies they are just normal kids without being overly smart or sassy. They are rather diverse but united in their vulnerability, which makes them quite loveable. According to the rules, however, do not physically reach out for them as a teacher if you don't want to get in any troubles. The suicide should be warning enough in this respect.
Maybe not quite the movie that is to be expected in an Oscar nomination, but it surely deserved it. The discreet acting of Mohammed Fellag as Monsieur Lazhar fits in perfectly.
It is the story of an Algerian immigrant into Canada, who takes over a primary school class in Montreal, after the former teacher has committed suicide. In mostly short and unsentimental scenes we see the challenges and prejudices that a person coming from a different cultural background is confronted with.
There are certain parents who doubt that a foreigner can be the right person for educating their offspring. Likewise, there is an otherwise likeable fellow teacher, who confuses a forced emigration with an adventure trip that adds some spice and color to the journey of life. Monsieur Lazhar dissents vehemently by stating that being a refugee means being without roots and feeling disoriented in the new "homeland".
At this point of the movie, we know already that Monsieur Lazhar knows what he is talking about, because we have seen his case at the immigration authorities. There he is confronted with a considerable amount of distrust regarding his life being endangered in Algeria despite the big personal losses he had to go through.
And then this deeply traumatized man, who is fighting for his dignity, is the only person who finds the right key to the wounded souls of his students, who are also in a way traumatized by the suicide that happened to take place right in their own classroom. It seems that it needs pain to correctly deal with pain.
The portrayal of these children is another strong aspect of the movie. Unlike in many other movies they are just normal kids without being overly smart or sassy. They are rather diverse but united in their vulnerability, which makes them quite loveable. According to the rules, however, do not physically reach out for them as a teacher if you don't want to get in any troubles. The suicide should be warning enough in this respect.
Maybe not quite the movie that is to be expected in an Oscar nomination, but it surely deserved it. The discreet acting of Mohammed Fellag as Monsieur Lazhar fits in perfectly.