Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Have you seen "The Class" (2008)

Ah man, you have to see this film. The movie takes place almost entirely within the walls of a classroom and yet with each scene I found myself becoming more and more mesmerized. Mesmerized by the writing, the staging and most importantly the characters and the actors who portray them.

From the beginning you have nothing but apathy for the kids and the individuals who teach them. These kids are REALLY tough around the edges. With each passing minute I began to realize what little I have done to show my appreciation to the teachers I had growing up, and especially of those today. With each passing exchange between child and adult I became more and more agitated, just waiting for the inevitable powder keg to explode. But "Entre les murs" doesn't follow the formula. It portrays real kids from real families and real people teaching them.

In one beautiful scene, a glimmer of hope arises as the resident "trouble kid" delivers a heartfelt reading of his self-portrait through his likes and dis-likes. Each student has their credentials for angst; egotistical, mean, social outcast, nerd, gossip queen, insolent, illegal. The beauty is seeing them living through it and pushing the audience past steriotypes and far beyond anything Hollywood could think to say about today's youth. How many of you have read "The Republic" and applied it to your life?

Tuesday, September 8, 2009