Entre les murs (2008) - film review

François is a young teacher in a typical French inner city school.  His job is not easy, particularly as his students come from difficult backgrounds and find little relevance in what they are taught.  But François perseveres, determined not to be beaten by the daily challenges that his job poses...

Judging by its unflattering portrayal in films over the past few decades, the French education system is in a pretty bad way.  Le Maître d'école (1981), P.R.O.F.S. (1985), Le Plus beau métier du monde (1996) and L’École pour tous (2006) all paint the same depressing picture of anarchy in the classroom, into which an idealistic young teacher wades like a modern Daniel checking into the lion’s den.   Entre les murs is the latest addition to this well-worn genre and, whilst its subject is woefully familiar, it stands out from the rest because it avoids the tired clichés, forced romanticism and tacky moralising, but instead shows things as they really are.  

Occupying the hazy middle-ground between documentary and social drama, the film offers no solutions to the failings of the current education system and does not attempt to make any profound moral or political point.  It merely draws our attention to what is becoming a serious social problem, namely how can a teacher do his job effectively when he no longer has the respect of his class and when the class comprises such a socially and racially diverse mix that conflict is inevitable.

Entre les murs is an inspired adaptation of François Bégaudeau’s acclaimed 2006 novel of the same title, winner of the Prix France Culture-Télérama, in which the writer draws on his own experiences as a teacher at a school in a rough area of Paris.  Bégaudeau plays a fictional version of himself in the film, a flawed but likeable teacher whose efforts to win over his class are constantly thwarted by their lippy indifference and his own character failings.

The film was enthusiastically received by the critics when it was first released and was awarded the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2008, the first French film to win the coveted prize since Maurice Pialat’s Sous le soleil de Satan in 1987.  It was also honoured at the 2009 Césars, winning an award for its screenplay and being nominated in four other categories, including Best Film and Best Director.

This is Laurent Cantet’s fourth full-length film to date and stylistically resembles his stunning first feature, Ressources humaines (1999), a hard-edged docu-drama revolving around confrontation in the workplace.  Entre les murs isn’t quite as bleak as this earlier film and there are some lighter moments, yet it doesn’t shirk from showing the grim reality of life in an inner city classroom.  The naturalistic performances and Cantet’s understated mise-en-scène give the film a realism that allows us to appreciate the frustration of both the teacher and his pupils as they endure an ordeal which looks less like an education and more like a pointless ritual of psychological attrition imposed by the state.

The class that we see in this film - a diverse mix that is comprised entirely of non-professional actors - shows what many teachers face, day in, day out: a hoard of savvy, outspoken individuals who just do not see the point of education.  Is their teacher, François, a hero or a deluded masochist?  Just how can he hope to sell something as nebulous as the imperfect subjunctive to a bunch of semi-illiterates who wll probably never so much as look at a book after leaving school?   Entre les murs is a thought-provoking and humane piece of drama that highlights some deep-seated flaws in today’s education system.  Whether it will actually change anything remains to be seen.

© James Travers 2010

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