Monsieur Lazhar

Name: Monsieur Lazhar
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2011
Duration: 95 min
Cast: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Marie-Ève Beauregard, Vincent Millard

Philippe Falardeau20111h 35mComedy, Drama

Why we chose it

Mohamed Fellag once fled Algeria himself, and in this Oscar-nominated film, adapted from a one-man play, he plays a fellow Algerian who offers to fill in at a Montreal school. He has lost far more back home than anyone suspects, and he wins trust slowly, never dodging the hard subjects.

Synopsis

Midway through the school year in Montreal, a teacher takes her own life in her classroom, and one of her pupils finds the body. Bachir Lazhar then appears in the principal’s office offering to take over the class, tells her he taught in Algeria for years and gets the job. His application for asylum is still waiting for a decision. Why did he leave?