Sir Lazhar(Comedy, Drama)

Actors:

Mohamed Fellag    Sophie Nélisse        Émilien Néron          Danielle Proulx

Bachir Lazhar        Alice L’Écuyer          Simon                      Mme Vaillancourt

Director:

Philippe Falardeau(Canadian director)

Plot:

After the suicide of an elementary school teacher, a desperate school principal, Mme Vaillancourt, tries to fill the position. An Algerian refugee, Bachir Lazhar, offers to teach the children and Vaillancourt accepts without checking his credentials. In the beginning, there was a noticeable gap in teaching styles but eventually, Lazhar helps the children heal from the traumatic memory of their recently deceased teacher. We learn that Lazhar himself also experienced his fair share of traumas such as the death of his wife and children and also how he was not a teacher. In the end, Vaillancourt finds out and he is subsequently fired but not before he has a tearful goodbye with the students that he has grown close with.

Technical Aspects:

The main aspect that enhanced the film was the use of only 2 settings, the classroom, and outside.  This allowed us as the audience to focus on how Lazhar helps the children move on from the tragic death of their teacher.

Major themes and important Scenes:

Major themes: Perseverance, Death, Starting Over

Important Scenes: The court scene was important because it showed us how Lazhar was able to connect with the children. The ending was also important because it showed that he was successful in helping the children move forward.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths: One of the major strengths of this film was strong character development.  This allowed us as the audience to really connect with the main characters.

Weaknesses: The main weakness of this film was the time limit because it felt as if the story was a little rushed at the end and the interactions between the characters could have been more fleshed out.

Rating:

This movie was powerful and moving. It definitely showed the struggle that one experiences with moving and how sometimes we can help each other just by talking.