François Bégaudeau, Agame Malembo-Emene, Angélica Sancio
Francois Begaudea’s book Entre Les Murs, about his experiences as a young teacher, finds a perfect transfer to the big screen in this compelling drama, the stand-out French film of 2008 and the deserved winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or.
Begaudeau himself gives an authentic performance as a committed French language teacher in an inner city school, struggling to keep on top of his class of spiky teenagers from an array of different backgrounds.
The script skilfully steers clear of platitudes – there’s no prescribed agenda here, no feel-good trajectory, just the everyday drama of the classroom.
Cantet films at close quarters, like all great realist films, slowly revealing the workings of the institution, occasionally shifting perspective to show all sides of the conflicts between the students, between students and teachers and in the staffroom.
