Entre les murs (2008)

Note des utilisateurs:

7.9/10   

Réalisateur:

Laurent Cantet

Writers:

François Bégaudeau (book)
François Bégaudeau (screenplay)
(suite)

Release Date:

24 septembre 2008 (France)

Genre:

Drame

Plot:

Teacher and novelist François Bégaudeau plays a version of himself as he negotiates a year with his racially mixed students from a tough Parisian neighborhood.

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Student | French | Race Relations | French Moroccan

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 7 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

A sample of real life

Ensemble

François Bégaudeau	...	François Marin
Arthur Fogel	...	Arthur
Boubacar Toure	...	Boubacar
Cherif Bounaïdja Rachedi	...	Cherif
Dalla Doucoure	...	Dalla
Damien Gomes	...	Damien
Eva Paradiso	...	Eva
Juliette Demaille	...	Juliette
Laura Baquela	...	Laura
Louise Grinberg	...	Louise
Nassim Amrabt	...	Nassim
Rabah Nait Oufella	...	Rabah
Cécile Lagarde	...	Les Profs - Cécile
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
Frédérique Alles
Valérie Benguigui
Jean-François Chauvet
Mario Fanfani
Adeline Fogel	...	La mére d'Arthur
Gilles Gourmelen
Anne Langlois	...	Les Profs - Sophie
Farida Ouchani
Olivier Pasquier	...	L'intendant

Réalisé par
Laurent Cantet

Scénaristes (in alphabetical order)
François Bégaudeau		book
François Bégaudeau		screenplay
Robin Campillo		writer
Laurent Cantet		writer

Produit par
Caroline Benjo	....	producer
Carole Scotta	....	producer

Image
Pierre Milon

Montage
Robin Campillo

Directeur de production
Christina Crassaris	....	post-production supervisor
Michel Dubois	....	production manager
Jean-Marie Laurens	....	assistant unit manager
Myriam Raynaud	....	assistant production manager

Assistant réalisateur
Aurelio Cardenas	....	assistant director
Mathieu Danielo	....	assistant director

Technicien du son
Antoine Baudouin	....	assistant sound editor
Edouard d'Heucqueville	....	sound mix technician
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound re-recording mixer
Olivier Mauvezin	....	sound
Antoine Mercier	....	sound assistant
Agnes Ravez	....	sound editor
Paulin Sagna	....	assistant sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Chassaing Arthur	....	second assistant camera
Julie Conte	....	first assistant camera
Jean-Marc Dupuy	....	key grip
Aurélien Gerbault	....	gaffer
Romain Kelfa	....	video assistant
Georgi Lazarevski	....	camera operator
Catherine Pujol	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Vicky Brougiannaki	....	extras casting assistant
Christine Campion	....	extras casting

Divers
Brigitte Tijou	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Haut et Court
• Canal+
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• France 2 Cinéma
• Memento Films Production

Distributors

• AmaFilms (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• ArtCam (2008) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Artificial Eye (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Barbar Film (2008) (Turkey) (all media)
• Camera Film (2009) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Cinema Mondo (2009) (Finland) (all media)
• Cinéart (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Concorde Filmverleih (2008) (Germany) (all media)
• EDKO Film (2008) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2008-2009) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Golem Distribución (2008) (Spain) (all media)
• Haut et Court (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• Imovision (2009) (Brazil) (all media)
• Kino Bez Granits (2008) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Mikado (2008) (Italy) (all media)
• NonStop Entertainment (2008) (Sweden) (all media)
• Primer Plano Film Group (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• SPInka (2008) (Poland) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2008) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2008) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2008) (New Zealand) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2008) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2008) (Canada) (all media)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Donna Daniels Public Relations  publicity

Autre(s) titre(s):

The Class (International: English title) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language.

Durée:

Argentina:128 min | France:128 min | USA:128 min

Pays:

France

Langue:

Français

Couleur:

Couleur

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Son:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS (US prints)

Classification:

Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-3 | USA:PG-13 | Sweden:7 | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12A | Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:M

Company:

Haut et Court

Anecdotes:

The French title - Entre les murs - translated into English means "Between the Walls" (as in a classroom).

Movie Connections:

Featured in "At the Movies: Summer Special 2008/09" (2008)

A sample of real life

At the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, two movies were able to give viewers a vivid glimpse of the very real social context they dealt with. One was the Italian crime drama Gomorra, based on a non-fiction bestseller about the Camorra's dealings. The other, which received the coveted Palme d'Or (although Gomorra is a tad more riveting), is Laurent Cantet's The Class (the original French title translates as Between the Walls), which some described as the new Dead Poets Society for obvious reasons. The comparison is legitimate but a bit weak, mostly because The Class focuses less on the Greeek tragedy structure typical of school-set dramas. Instead, it gives an incredibly accurate idea of what really goes on in an average school class.

Cantet's film is based on the eponymous book by François Bégaudeau, a former teacher who decided to inaugurate his writing career with a memoir of sorts recounting his experiences in a middle school in a Parisian suburb. Not surprisingly, when word of a cinematic adaptation came out, Bégaudeau wanted to be involved, contributing to the screenplay and taking on the lead role, virtually playing himself.

Well, not really: there's a degree of fiction in his character, at least in the fact that his last name is Marin. Everything else is spot-on, though: he gets along with his colleagues, has an intelligent teaching plan and is generally considered a good French teacher. Still, that doesn't mean there aren't problems in the class, especially when most of the 13-year old kids in there are foreign (Moroccan, Chinese, etc.). Situations range from a new student struggling to fit in to troublemakers refusing to pay attention, and it looks like some of them might not make it to the end of the academic year.

The magic of The Class is of course that it doesn't feel like a movie, but like something real, tangible - a slice of life, if you may. This is because Cantet prepared the film by selecting thousands of real students for the various parts and then going through a year-long improvisation exercise with those who made it to the final cut. In this case, though, "improvised" doesn't equal loads of swearing like in Judd Apatow's body of work (even if some of the lingo used by the kids is on the stronger side), but things people say and think when they're going through that delicate period of their life. There isn't really a point in talking about performances, save for the adults, who are nonetheless teachers in real life. These people, particularly the young ones, aren't acting, they're living. And that is a beautiful thing to behold.

It is said that movies and life do occasionally merge. Few examples are closer to the truth than The Class: it's not a biopic, it's not a documentary. It's a lesson.