Now showing at the Fargo Movie Theater, a French offering, “The Class.”

Posted By Fargo Reviews ~ 29th April 2009

Now showing at the Fargo, a French offering, “The Class.”

This is an interesting movie about a French high school, and one class in particular as it navigates through the school year.  The story, if it is one as opposed to real life drama, which it may well be, as far as I’m concerned, focuses on a French class.  The high school is apparently not one with many upper middle class students.  If we think our educational system has a diverse bunch of students, just remember that the French Colonial empire once rivaled the British in magnitude.  So, we have moslem students, not only black students, but some from Africa and some from the Caribbean, and of course ordinary Franks.

Most of the scenes are set in the French classroom with the teacher trying his best to deal with unruly, disinterested and aggressive students.  There are also shots of faculty meetings whee the less than perfect situation.  Some of the teachers just want to give up entirely, and sometime I was tempted to agree with them.

I don’t think there’s any real message here, such as Th. fundamentally good or bad nature of adolescents or mankind in general.  It’s as though someone just set a camera in a classroom and let it run.  I found the depiction of the different student personalities and ethnic groups interesting, although I didn’t particularly enjoy the movie.

If you enjoyed “Blackboard Jungle” or would enjoy “Fast Times at Ridgemont HIgh” only without the humor, then you might like this.  If you require any action or dramatic script, it isn’t here(except for brief shoving matches.”

Cinematography:   B
Relevance:           B*
Storyline:            N/A