The Class (Entre les murs)

The Cannes Film Festival last summer awarded its Palme d'Or to Laurent Cantet's film "Entre les murs" (The Class)  dealing with a year in the life of an  inner-city high school located in one of Paris tough  culturally mixed neighborhoods.  It is the first French film in 21 years to receive the coveted award. The film (opening in Paris Sept 24, 2008) is based on a semi-autobiographical novel with the same name by Francois Bégaudeau, who also stars in the film.

"Entre les murs" -which literally means between the walls- comes at a time when French schools are in the news. Only weeks before the festival thousands of teachers and students took to the streets to protest the government's plan to cut some 11,200 jobs in education including 8,000 teaching posts. France's 2004 hijab ban, which prohibits students wearing symbols of religion in schools, continues to be a controversial topic here.

Laurent Cantet, best known for his 2001  film "Time Out," gives his latest film a fly on the wall documentary feel with his use of "non-professional" teenage actors mostly from the school where the movie was set. The film depicts the struggles of a young idealistic teacher facing the realities of teaching in Paris' 20th arrondissement where poverty, race and culture spill into the classroom becoming a microcosm of France.

"The aim of my book" says Bégaudeau, was to document one school year, sticking close to daily experiences. So there was no clear narrative line, no fictional plot centered around any one particular event... A school constantly creates wonderful situations. But we all know at the same time that it is, in the end, discriminatory, unequal... This tension was at the basis of the film.... the progression of the screenplay takes us to rupture, impossibility, catastrophe. Each situation is a utopia, but the sum of situations is tragic."

 "Entre les murs" is no "To Sir, with Love"  with teacher as super-hero says director Laurent Cantet " When one takes risks, things can go wrong, misunderstandings can be provoked. We worked in this direction." About his film's characters Cantet says " They all have their weaknesses and outbursts, their moments of grace and pettiness. Each one can exhibit both clairvoyance and blindness, comprehension and injustice. I even have the impression that the film expresses something paradoxically positive: a school is sometimes very chaotic, useless to cover its face, there are moments of discouragement but also great moments of grace, immense happiness. And from this great chaos, a lot of intelligence can be born."