Monsieur Lazhar at Enzian

By Samir Mathur
Contributing writer
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This is a repost from my FFF2012 coverage

MONSIEUR LAZHAR is playing at Enzian, today through Thursday,  (Details)

This is an absorbing little French-language film from Canada, that was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at this Oscars, where it was beaten by 'A Separation'. Set in snowy Montreal, the story is about the titular educator, an immigrant from Algeria, who shows up out of nowhere after a sixth-grade teacher hangs herself in the classroom. He inherits a class of youngsters struggling to come to terms with what happened, while trying to inspire and educate them the way he believes, while also battling with the demons from his own past. The film moves at a nice, relaxed pace, and doesn't try to sugar coat anything or try and be a crowd-pleasing 'Dead Poet's Society' clone, as an American counterpart probably would have. The performances from Mohamed Fellag as Monsieur Lazhar, and the two young actors that play Simon and Alice, are outstanding, and the film remains charming despite channeling all sorts of torment and prejudice.

If I were a lazy person, I'd say something catchy like "It's 'Etre et Avoir' meets 'The School of Rock'". But I'm not. So I won't. But this movie is terrific. Don't miss.