Jamie passion and passionfruit!

Great winner of the Golden Palm at the last Cannes festival, this absorbing film is not just a fascinating view for us teachers of a high school class in Paris today but also a slowly building drama of the typical everyday issues that a teacher of a multi-racial class has to face.  Laurent Cantet has built a reputation for his ability to capture today’s reality whether it be unions in action, the unemployment of executives or the sex trade and this is another triumph.  The story of the trials of this teacher and his class as he tries to make French relevant to his students is told without flourishes and fake moves.  François Bégaudeau takes the lead role in the film which recreates his book and is ably assisted by a team of students, teachers and parents who were recruited in the very same high school Bégaudeau wrote about. The film leaves you with plenty to think about as students and teachers question the viability of what they are teaching and the resources they have to work with in conveying this to students.  I wholeheartedly enjoyed it and in it’s low-key way think it is a most effective piece of cinema.

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