THE CLASS
CAROLINE: After hearing all the hype about how good this French movie “The Class” is, I decided to take myself to see it. It was, after all, nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars.
RYAN: All I’ve heard from everyone who’s seen it is how great it is.
CAROLINE: Me too! I figured at least one of us had to see it. And it’s a wonder that I stayed awake for as long as I did.
RYAN: Oh no! It was boring?
CAROLINE: I feel like I must have missed something because I really didn’t like it. It’s basically just a teacher and his students in France. He teaches them, they’re unruly and disrespectful, mayhem ensues, etc. It’s a real slice-of-life movie. They used real students and teachers, but it’s not a documentary.
RYAN: I’m so surprised you didn’t like it. Even the trailer looked so compelling.
CAROLINE: I didn’t love the trailer, but I figured with all the buzz around this movie it must be amazing. But I don’t know what’s so amazing about watching a teacher teach a class and go to staff meetings. I think I was supposed to care about the students and their lives, but I didn’t.
RYAN: Hmm. I’ve heard people say it’s one of the best movies of the year.
CAROLINE: Oh that it were true! I actually considered leaving at one point because I could barely keep my eyes open. Clearly, I’m in the minority, but it just didn’t work for me. I wasn’t at all interested in the students or their lives. Mostly they’re rude to their teacher and they irritated me. It’s not poorly made or anything; just dull.
RYAN: I just don’t know what’s up with movies that get so much hype and then are disappointing. That seems to have happened a lot in ’08 between “The Wrestler” and “Revolutionary Road.”
CAROLINE: I know.
RYAN: So were the performances that much more real since these were real people and not actors?
CAROLINE: The kids were all pretty good considering. I wouldn’t say anyone was bad; but honestly it felt like a documentary. If you didn’t know it was scripted, you’d probably just think it was a real-life look into a French school.
RYAN: I think that was the whole gimmick of this movie, but it sounds like it didn’t work.
CAROLINE: I really don’t understand what everyone loves so much about it. I guess it just didn’t work for me. I must be some sort of philistine.
— BOTTOM LINE —
CAROLINE: I didn’t enjoy this movie at all, so I wouldn’t recommend it. But it’s getting tons of accolades, so maybe it’s just me. If you’re at all inclined to see it, or if you like French films, then you should check it out. But I thought it was a big snooze.
— RATING —
