Anytime a movie spends a 10 minute scene with a bunch of students trying to figure out the proper tenses of words like "to swim," it is probably a given that I will like that movie. The Class is that movie. Based on the memoir of a real life teacher (who wrote the script and stars as the teacher) The Class is a small, intimate portrait of a middle school classroom in France. Francois teaches French to a group of kids who are mostly immigrants, for whom French is not their natural language. He gets along with his fellow teachers, he has a smart lesson plan and a very good idea of who his kids are and what his kids can do. As this movie shows, though, none of that matters once the kids are sitting in class. Lesson plans often get thrown away in favor of keeping up with the questions kids have, or have to be put away to deal with some problems in the classroom. Francois is liked by the students generally, but he is firm. he does not allow students to slack off, because he believes in them. The job is frustrating though and The Class really shows how frustrating it can be.
The Class features a host of young people, who are first time actors and who went through a grueling audition and improvisation process. Because of this, the kids are raw and the dialog feels like real things kids this age would say. The film feels less like a movie and more like a documentary. I know that is semi-common these days with movies, but there is not a real actory feel to any of the performances. I do not want to make that sound like a bad thing. I mean, the emotions are there and the anger can be very palpable, but it does not feel fabricated. There are young people who do not articulate the way you'd like them to on screen, but I think that adds to the idea that these are not actors. I would not want every movie to utilize this concept, but it works for a movie like this.
Of course I am going to like a movie that is all about words and how to understand them and use them. It should come as no surprise that a movie that has a long conversation about when to use formal and informal language registers nicely with me. I think the movie can be appreciated by people who are not word nuts like I am, but I am not sure. My movie going partner did not seem to enjoy the movie the way I did. I know it was not because of the very anti-Hollywood ending, because he is not like that, so maybe this movie is best viewed by people who want to be teaching in a classroom or who already do teach in a classroom. Luckily for me, I am that person.
Final Grade: B+
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