Although it did not receive the Oscar last night that it was nominated for in the Best Foreign Language Film category, I thought it was worth writing about this French movie which is up for five French César awards (the French equivalent of the Oscars) on the 27th of this month.  Based on a book by François Bégaudeau, Entre les murs is a drama/somewhat documentary directed by Laurent Cantet about the writer himself.  François is a teacher at a working-class, Parisian junior high school in a racially-mixed, troublesome neighborhood.  He and his colleagues, although often discouraged because most of the students just don’t care about learning, try their best to makes sure they are providing the best education possible.  The classrooms in this movie represent today’s France which is a hodgepodge of cultures and races that often clash.  Teachers may particularly like this film as many of them will be able to identify with François’ frustrations and motivation.
This was the first French film to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival since 1987.
Here’s the trailer:
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