THE CLASS World Cinema

Laurent Cantet, already a hero to cineastes for his class-strife studies TIME OUT and HEADING SOUTH, breaks into the international spotlight with this Palme d’Or-winning story of Francois, who , along with his fellow teachers, is preparing for a new year at a high school in a tough Parisian neighborhood. Armed with the best intentions, these teachers brace themselves against the inevitable discouragement. Con they give their students the best education possible in on unfriendly environment? THE CLASS powerfully presents one high school as a microcosm of contemporary France, with its sometimes explosive cultural and class differences. But this is also a film about everyday heroism. By creating on atmosphere that’s neither stuffy nor severe, expecting the highest performance from his students and providing them with the kind of honesty they need and deserve but only rarely encounter, Francois demands success from his students. Of course, faced with the rising standards, some students rebel. Based on the autobiographical novel by Francois Begaudeau, THE CLASS’s immediacy and intimacy arises from its use of real students and teachers and from carefully deployed video cameras, which give the story its gritty, street-level feel. And this startling, inspiring story shows Paris like we’ve never seen it before.