Monsieur Lazhar (2011)

Directed by: Philippe Falardeau | 94 minutes | drama, comedy | Actors: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx, Brigitte Poupart, Jules Philip, Daniel Gadouas, Louis Champagne, Seddik Benslimane, Marie-Ève ​​Beauregard, André Robitaille, Francine Ruel, Sophie Sanscartier, Evelyne de la Chenelière, Vincent Millard Louis-David Leblanc, Nicole-Sylvie Lagarde, Gabriel Verdier, Marie Charlebois, Marianne Soucy-Lord, Stéphane Demers, Nathalie Costa

‘Monsieur Lazhar’ won the Audience Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2012. The first images of the film story capture the drama in a catchy way. When young student Simon wants to bring the school milk to the classroom, he sees a shocking image through the door window. His teacher committed suicide in class by hanging herself there. Everyone is immediately led away, but the girl Alice can also quickly glance at her. That event is indeed the dramatic cause, but in the story that follows the consequences of her act and the processing of the emotions are central.

‘Monsieur Lazhar’ is a warm and loving film about feelings of guilt, grief and the process of coping. The story conveys a strongly convincing message of friendship and hope and shows how grief is dealt with from different cultural backgrounds and how children and adults react differently to situations.

The suicide of a beloved teacher shocks the school and grips the children. They need to address questions such as ‘how could this have happened’ and ‘why did she do it in the classroom’? The school management and the parents are desperately wondering how to keep everything on track?

An unexpected applicant presents itself for the vacancy that has arisen. Monsieur Lazhar (Fellag) is a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant who seems to qualify fully with an extensive resume. However, it turns out that he also carries a secret that he keeps hidden from the outside world. He also goes through his own grieving process that has not yet been processed.

Monsieur Lazhar and his students are followed for several months. Initially, he gets entangled in the much looser teaching methods that are used. Because of his origins from another culture, he uses more traditional norms and values ​​in which, for example, ‘you’ is still said to the teacher. But his teaching style is also considered a bit old-fashioned. He discovers in conversations (and through mutual quarrels between students who blame each other) that they have not yet processed the events – despite the help of a hired psychologist. If he raises this with the school management, he finds little support. He becomes more and more aware of his own unresolved grieving process.

The film deals with the issue of how adults and children interact with each other at school in a subtle and convincing way. There is now more or less a taboo against touching children in any way, whatever the circumstances. This delicate subject is beautifully incorporated in the developments and is certainly convincing in the final scenes.

With sometimes unorthodox methods, Monsieur Lazhar assists the children and knows how to pierce through the silence and the taboo of talking about death. This process also gives him the opportunity to process his own loss. The young Simon emotionally carries the cross that his behavior is said to have contributed to what happened.

The performances by both the adults and the children are lifelike. The cinematography is sublime and the musical support strong. Despite the drama of the subject and the other serious themes that have been touched upon, it is above all a warm, loving and in a sense humorous film with a psychological angle à la the magnificent ‘Être et avoir’.

‘Monsieur Lazhar’ is exactly that kind of film in which the spectator can be carried away wonderfully. A real pearl!