THE CLASS aka ENTRE LES MURS
Year: 2008
USA: Sony Pictures Classics
UK: Artificial Eye
Cast: François Begaudeau
The Students: Nassim Amrabt, Laura Baquela, Cherif Bounaïdja Rachedi, Juliette Demaille, Dalla Doucoure, Arthur Fogel, Damien Gomes, Louise Grinberg, Qifei Huang, Wei Huang, Franck Keïta, Henriette Kasaruhanda, Lucie Landrevie, Agame Malembo-Emene, Rabah Naït Oufella, Carl Nanor, Esmeralda Ouertani, Burak Özyilmaz, Eva Paradiso, Rachel Regulier, Angelica Sancio, Samantha Soupirot, Boubacar Toure, Justine Wu
The Teachers: Vincent Caire, Olivier Dupeyron, Patrick Dureuil, Frederic Faujas, Dorothee Guilbot, Cecile Lagarde, Anne Langlois, Yvette Mournetas, Vincent Robert, Anne Wallimann-Charpentier
The Administration & Personnel: Julie Athenol, Jean-Michel Simonet, Olivier Pasquier, Stephane Longour, Abdoul Drahamane Sissoko
The Parents: Fatoumata Kante, Cheick Baba Doumbia, Khalid Amrabt, Adeline Fogel, Lingfen Huang, Wenlong Huang, Sezer Özyilmaz
Director: Laurent Cantet
Country: France
Language: French (English subtitles)
USA & UK: 128 mins
USA Rated: PG-13 for language
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong language
USA Release Date: 30 January 2009 (Limited Release)
UK Release Date: 27 February 2009 (Limited Release)
UK Distributor
Synopsis
François and his fellow teachers brace themselves for a new year at a multi-cultural Parisian school as the pupils return from their Summer break. In François' French class, cultures and attitudes clash and lively classroom banter can quickly turn to heated discussions about race, identity and discipline.
A charismatic but not unflawed teacher, François endeavours to overcome the disruptive nature and lack of discipline that many of his students possess, from the impudent Esmeralda (Esmeralda Ouertani) to the smart but moody Khoumba (Rachel Regulier) who believes she deserves more respect from François.
The film gradually comes to focus on Souleymane (Franck Keïta), a rebellious and troubled boy from Mali whose violent behaviour towards François and its consequences is hotly debated by his classmates and teachers.