Just kidding. Monsieur Lazhar, a film from French Canada may be the best foreign film of the year. It’s a minor masterpiece in which you end up rooting for most of the characters and falling in love with all the children. I’d never heard of it before viewing, so went in blind.
The story concerns a class of Montreal kids whose teacher has committed suicide. The class is taken over by a strange man from Algeria with his own dark history and thus begins the wonderful growing alchemy between these kids and the teacher. Everyone has a secret so the tale unfolds as a mystery as much as anything else. The storytelling is flawless. There is one scene of nothing but an empty hallway that goes on for twenty or thirty seconds and, because of the context, imbues as much suspense as any twenty seconds from any Hitchcock film. Philippe Falardeau, the writer/director, has a real way with actors but especially with children.
Below is the trailer which doesn’t come close to doing justice to this perfect little gem. Do yourself a favor. Get this on streaming or rent the DVD so you’ll have something to watch when your eyes get too tired to read any more.
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