Lessons Learned in Monsieur Lazhar

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Monsieur Lazhar actor Mohammed Fellag in the classroom

Quiet control in storytelling, Philippe Falardeau chose a situation in the first continuous scene when a beloved teacher is discovered having hanged herself in the classroom. Not wanting the students’ backgrounds to become an issue in a story that had enough issues to contend with, his choice of images included a private school, the characters are middle class, dressed the same way and polite. It’s either the story that works or it doesn’t and Monsieur Lazhar works both in storytelling the high level of filmmaking craftsmanship.

In an interview with Falardeau, there are no coincidences in the film even to the color of the walls behind the characters. He explains that aside from the shock of the opening scene, the rest of the film is uneventful sans the twists and turns associated with the emotional tension that follows the set up event, namely the suicide of the classroom teacher and the effect it has on the class, the two children who actually saw their teacher and the rest of the school personnel who choose to sweep it under the rug, or in this case, paint the classroom walls a different color.

Taking it from the point of view of the young students, the acting by newcomers Sophie Nelisse and Emillien Neron who play Alice and Simon respectively was extraordinary from the moment of the discovery, how they reacted individually and to the point of their ultimate reconciliation with the help of their teacher, Bashir Lazhar.

Lazhar (Mohammed Fellag) reads about the tragedy in the paper and offers his services to step in as a substitute teacher for the traumatized class. He is a likable newcomer winning over the class, the only other two men in the school (a gym teacher and maintenance worker) and an admirer with a penchant for African violets. His own traumatic experience as an immigrant from Algiers after the tragic murders of his wife (a school teacher) and two children is uncovered during his court appearances seeking political asylum.

A mixture of scriptwriting, preparing the film and shooting the film brought out new ideas that propels the film forward without obvious exposition. Objects and teaching lessons are used to support the personality of each character that continuously rebuilds the dramatic tension. Falardeau uses all the filmmaking tools skillfully to build on that fine line of emotion carrying it through to the final scene, a fable written by the teacher and corrected by the class out loud thus opting out of the usual melodramatic farewells and instead incorporating a teaching element with eloquence and emotion.

Monsieur Lazhar is a beautifully made film with extraordinary characters and acting garnering the Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film– Canada and winner of Six Genie Awards including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director. Philippe Falardeau is a director to keep an eye out for. The film will be coming out in 25 countries and is opening in New York on Friday, April 13 at the Walter Reade and Angelika Film Center, New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.