"Primaire" is a French 2016 movie that took until early 2018 to make its way into German cinemas. The director is Hélène Angel and she is also part of the writing squad for this one. Here we have the story of a (relatively) young teacher in France who has to deal with a lot more in her professional and private life than can be expected from her. If it is a pupil whose mother disappeared, her own son's expression of impatience as his mom never picks him when he raises his hand at school, the boy's wish to spend a year with his dad, a chaotic potential romantic interest, a disabled student, this student's aide who's doing more to help than she should, her own examination by a controlling council and so on and so on. No surprise she collapses and becomes unconscious at one point. The collapse was not shown though, so it is basically as if we see her sleeping and this is one decision that shows us how they mostly intended to make this a film also for young audiences, who can and maybe should see it just like grown-ups. A movie for all ages really. I think I could have done without the romance part, but hey if it makes the likable central character happy, then it's all good I guess. I did like, however, that the film does not offer unrealistic happy ending in every subplot like the smelly boy early on and what happens to him in the end. The play near the end did not have as much significance as was intended all in all. Still the positive is more frequent than the negative. There are moments here and there that will perhaps put a smile on your lips, but as a whole, it is definitely much more of a drama and the makers here in Germany from the FJG films can learn a lot from Angel in how to make a good school-themed film that feels authentic. Oh well, audience figures are everything I guess *sigh* So yes, I recommend "Primaire". See it if you get a chance to, not only at the big screen. They did a good job with the writing, the characters and everything else basically, so there is a solid deal of heart in this one. I give it a comfortable thumbs-up and it's really nice to see how France delivers so many strong movies every year. This one here may not be the very greatest overall, but just because there are so many other convincing ones. It wasn't a bad watch by any means. See it.
2 Reviews
Line up,children!
dbdumonteil12 May 2018
"Primaire " is an uneven sprawling ,sometimes confusing work.Some really good moments ,but some much less so .
Unlike high schools, primary education is seldom the subject of a movie ;teenagers are more interesting (or most likely easier ) to work with.
This school is not always credible ,and I know what I'm talking about ,having worked as the teacher for years.
Good sequences :
The student teacher ,for the first time in front of a class, self-conscious , desperately trying to catch the brats 'attention ;in this scene ,and the next one ,where she keeps on repeating "they scare me" ,she almost steals the show from the principal. The inspection ,when the teacher tells her pupils that certain things in life are much more important than dictations and arithmetic (the way the director moves from moral and civic education on to an impromptu arithmetic problem which deals with her future career is really stunning.In this moment ,the movie seems to have been inspired .Then scenes from directors from the past come to mind: Jean-François Stevenin in his final speech about a miserable child in Truffaut 's "L'Argent De Poche" ;most likely the unfairly overlooked Le Chanois"'s Ecole Buissonnière " where the pupils take their exam in a very special way,under Bernard Blier's watchful eye .
Boys from the CM2(final year in primary school in France) coming to apologize to the brats of the CP (first year) for letting their rabbit escape; the toddlers are well directed ,and their questions are touching.
On the other hand :
The unfortunate boy's mother's ex-lover is intrusive (which Vincent Elbaz does nothing to rectify ) and his relationship with the teacher is a cliché to end all clichés ; besides ,her boy,Denis ,and the good dad have been seen by the average viewer at least a hundred times or more.
There are too many characters and their appearances are too hurried for comfort (for instance ,the girl who needs a woman to help her during the class- it often happens in France now- ,it deserves a whole movie ).
Who could believe ,at the end of the movie,that the discouraged teacher (because of the inspection? ) is about to resign?Who could believe in the caricature of a shameful mom?
And last but not least,haven't we had enough of these songs in English ,at the end of a French film,even though it is sung by a children's choir?
See it anyway ;its several good segments will make it well worth your while.
Unlike high schools, primary education is seldom the subject of a movie ;teenagers are more interesting (or most likely easier ) to work with.
This school is not always credible ,and I know what I'm talking about ,having worked as the teacher for years.
Good sequences :
The student teacher ,for the first time in front of a class, self-conscious , desperately trying to catch the brats 'attention ;in this scene ,and the next one ,where she keeps on repeating "they scare me" ,she almost steals the show from the principal. The inspection ,when the teacher tells her pupils that certain things in life are much more important than dictations and arithmetic (the way the director moves from moral and civic education on to an impromptu arithmetic problem which deals with her future career is really stunning.In this moment ,the movie seems to have been inspired .Then scenes from directors from the past come to mind: Jean-François Stevenin in his final speech about a miserable child in Truffaut 's "L'Argent De Poche" ;most likely the unfairly overlooked Le Chanois"'s Ecole Buissonnière " where the pupils take their exam in a very special way,under Bernard Blier's watchful eye .
Boys from the CM2(final year in primary school in France) coming to apologize to the brats of the CP (first year) for letting their rabbit escape; the toddlers are well directed ,and their questions are touching.
On the other hand :
The unfortunate boy's mother's ex-lover is intrusive (which Vincent Elbaz does nothing to rectify ) and his relationship with the teacher is a cliché to end all clichés ; besides ,her boy,Denis ,and the good dad have been seen by the average viewer at least a hundred times or more.
There are too many characters and their appearances are too hurried for comfort (for instance ,the girl who needs a woman to help her during the class- it often happens in France now- ,it deserves a whole movie ).
Who could believe ,at the end of the movie,that the discouraged teacher (because of the inspection? ) is about to resign?Who could believe in the caricature of a shameful mom?
And last but not least,haven't we had enough of these songs in English ,at the end of a French film,even though it is sung by a children's choir?
See it anyway ;its several good segments will make it well worth your while.
See also
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