The Lincoln is excited to screen this Acadamy Award nominated comedy/drama from Canada.
In Montreal, an elementary school teacher dies abruptly. Having learned of the incident in the newspaper, Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant, goes to the school to offer his services as a substitute teacher. Quickly hired to replace the deceased, he finds himself in an establishment in crisis, while going through his own personal tragedy. The cultural gap between Bachir and his class is made immediately apparent when he gives them a dictation exercise that is beyond their reach. Little by little, Bachir learns to better know this group of shaken but endearing kids, among whom are Alice and Simon, two charismatic pupils particularly affected by their teacher's death. While the class goes through the healing process, nobody in the school is aware of Bachir's painful past; nor do they suspect that he is at risk of being deported at any moment.
Directed by Philippe Falardeau
Starring: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx, Brigitte Poupart, Jules Philip
In French with English Subtitles
Reviews:
94% on the TomatoMeter
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Reviewed by: Jennie Punter
It's an exquisite, humanistic and subtly topical work of cinema art that manages to keep the intimate, revelatory sensibility of a one-man play intact while fleshing out the characters and creating a very realistic and richly detailed school community.
The A.V. Club
Reviewed by: John Semley
More than a class full of convincing child actors and a genuinely affecting performance by Fellag, Falardeau offers a film as believably wrenching, and finally cathartic, as the grieving process itself.
NPR
Reviewed by: Bob Mondello
Fellag, a comedian and himself an exile from Algeria, makes Lazhar both a sensitive and an amusing figure. And the kids are just terrific, especially Emilien Neron as a boy who carries the guilt of the whole school on his shoulders.
The New York Times
Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
Like no other film about middle school life that I can recall Monsieur Lazhar conveys the intensity and the fragility of these classroom bonds and the mutual trust they require.
Wall Street Journal
Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
What makes the film enthralling is the wisdom and grace with which it addresses the twin subjects of grief and healing, and the quiet beauty of Mohamed Fellag's performance in the title role.
Village Voice
Reviewed by: Michelle Orange
Nélisse, with her tough, Courtney Love puss, and Néron's portrayal of a boy's well-defended torment are extraordinary, as is the film's realization of the small, temporary world that surrounds them. Hitting upon that kind of specificity - of a moment and its emotion - makes for strong memories and a really great movie.
Admission Prices*:
General: $9.00
Seniors, Students and Active Military: $8.00
Members: $7.00
Children 12 and under: $6.00
Bargain Matinee Prices (all shows before 6:00pm)
General: $7.00
Members: $5:00
Children 12 and under: $4.00
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*All prices include a 50¢ Preservation Fee that goes directly into our capital account for films.
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