Etre et avoir

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8 out of 10

This is a French film documentary set in a small one-room school. The cast are about a dozen children aged between 4-11 and their teacher (George Lopez). I'll be honest, I was expecting an overly sentimental (and probably pretentious) look at some nauseating French kids. I was very pleasantly surprised.

It is simply a look at life in a small school. My favourite moments were the scenes at home with the family 'helping' the kids with their homework. Although this was no doubt influenced by my inability to help my 9 year old with his maths.

The film ends appropriately at the end of the school year. The relationship between the children and Mr Lopez is poignantly illustrated when three of the children leave to go to middle school.

Even my cynical 'heart of stone' was warmed. I found myself thinking how nice it would be to be a teacher ... of course I came to my senses later. However it is an indication though of how much the film gets under your skin that I considered it at all.

Comments

Mal said…
A touching review, Col. I might just have to add this to my rental list, now that you've allayed my fears of "nauseating French kids". ;-)
12:43 pm
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