Monsieur Lazhar

Canadian writer and director Philippe Falardeau took on class room politics with this drama. After a traumatic incident at a school, an Algerian immigrant becomes a substitute teacher whose old-fashioned methods of teaching helps some of the students to overcome their grief. Despite some obvious flaws in the script, Falardeau delivers an emotional film that will resonate with many about the current state of education in public schools. Mohamed Fellag gives a sympathetic performance as the title character along with a bunch of natural youngsters. 1001 Films' coverage of films on DVD.