Dir: Laurent Cantet / France / 2008 / 128m / CLUB
There will not be a better film this year than Laurent Cantet's The Class, which focuses on a year in a schoolroom presided over by a young teacher, Marin (François Bégaudeau). The school is in a rough Parisian neighborhood and the student body is mixed racially— black, Arab, Asian.
Marin's particular challenge is, as with every teacher, trying to instill a love of learning in these adolescents, but the particular setting and makeup of his charges renders his situation extraordinary. With intelligence and staggering humanity Cantet makes you truly care about his people. - David Noh / Film Journal International
* Awarded the Palm D'Or at the 2008 Canne Film Festival
