Reviews: ‘Monsieur Lazhar’
If you’ve seen the trailers for the new Canadian film “Monsieur Lazhar,” you might be tempted to characterize it as just another “Dead Poets Society” or “To Sir With Love – that is to say, a film about some perfect teacher who changes the lives of troubled children. Though “Monsieur Lazhar” is about a teacher and his middle school students, it’s a film that involves complicated characters in difficult situations and is neither as dire nor as simple as it may seem. It’s a film about the things we can’t (but desperately need to) talk about. There are no overwhelmingly significant moments, just a series of small ones that eventually build to help the characters grow, grieve and start anew. And it’s absolutely moving and affecting: tears were shed, but they were every bit earned.
