94% Monsieur Lazhar

Monsieur Lazhar is a affecting and gentle human drama with an exceptional cast about death, immigration, clinical depression and childhood -and still more weighty stuff -yet all the heaviness is told with humor and sensitivity. Director Felardeau has ellicited deep and resonant performances from his entire wonderful cast, including two spectactular children (Emilien Neron and Sophie Nelisse).Bachir Lazhar (Fellag) is a mysterious Algerian refugee who becomes a subsitute teacher after a Montreal public school teacher hangs herself in her classroom on a school day! The thrust of the plot is his attempt to deal with the grief of the suicidal teacher's students and within the administration of the school itself led by the Principal (the marvellous Danielle Proulx. ) He also has a budding romance with a fellow teacher and fractious relationships with some parents and students.There is not a false note from any of the cast at any moment. The restraint of the acting druing intense and hightly charged emotions is ultimately much more moving than big melodramatic screeching histrionics. Algerian comedian Felag gives an unforgettable performance as a man who manages to suggest a devastating back story without actually spelling out what it is. So he is uniquely qualified to help the children with their grief. However, the plot situations themselves are either extremely unlikely (and unbelievable) or not properly explained. Let's start with why a beloved teacher (albeit with mental problems) would hang herself in a school room during a school day. I might buy that if given some detail of what this teacher was all about, but it remains a mystery. Then let's wonder why a responsible principal would hire a guy off the street as a teacher, not check one credential on his CV in a very PC and formalized school system? The film suffers in its second half (Act 3 for all you budding screenwriters) with some quick leaps to resolve things. We are also cheated out of some relationships that have developed too quickly - for example, the special bond between Lazhar and Alice, one of his students who has helped deal with her grief. This may be because it is based on a short one man play written by Quebec playwright Evelyne De La Cheniere, who appears as Alice's mother, an airline pilot. Some of those leaps in a one act monologue need to be filled in for a full length film and Felardeau has failed to do that. (Or scenes are lying on the cutting room floor - I know there is NO cutting room floor anymore - that I don't know about. )However, Felardeau has done so many things right, that his film richly deserves its Academy Award nomination. Whatever carping I did the previous paragraph should not deter anyone from wanting to see this wonderful film.

February 20, 2012

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