Next Tuesday the Williams Lake Film Club will be screening Monsieur Lazhar, the Canadian film now in the running for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
Our next film is once again a very special one, again from Canada, and I have a good feeling that this time this film will win.
Monsieur Lazhar has certainly all the right elements. It deals with immigrants, teachers, and school children experiencing death in their closest surroundings.
The film begins with a student finding the body of a popular teacher hanging in their class room. She has committed suicide. Only his closest friend, another Grade 6 student, sees this horrific scene. A grief counsellor is hired, the class room is repainted, and another teacher has to be found for the class.
That is where Monsieur Lazhar steps in. He is an immigrant from Algeria.
He really does not have the correct teaching experience but the stressed out principal decides that she will give him a try.
We gradually learn that Monsieur Lazhar has had some extremely troubling experiences himself. With his formal manner, his different sounding French (the film plays at a school in Montreal) he really sets himself apart. He also does not quite follow the curriculum, so different from where he came from, but one thing he grasps very well is the agony and shock of the children. This he knows from personal experience. And slowly the colleagues and children start to understand his intelligence, his warmth and understanding.
This is a beautifully done film, full of unexpected little scenes and insights. And full of a quiet power that will stay with you for a long time to come. We have seen the film a couple of months ago at a pre-screening and we cannot wait to see it again.
The main actor, Mohamed Said Fellaq, is actually from Algiers. He played in many theatrical productions, often written by himself, and acted in films.
In 1995 he left Algiers for good after a bomb explosion during one of his presentations.
He moved first to Tunisia and then to France where he still lives today, working as a writer, actor, comedian, and social critic.
The film will be shown Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the Gibraltar Room at 7 p.m. Back doors open at 6:30 p.m. Proceeds go to the LDA, Williams Lake Chapter of the Association for Students with Learning Disabilities.
There will be refreshments after the screening to give you the opportunity to discuss the film, to meet old friends, and to make new ones.
By the way, on the Rotten Tomatoes Meter the film has received a solid 100 per cent so far.
