Film Review: Emotionally Devastating Lesson on Grief From ‘Monsieur Lazhar’

Submitted by BrianTT on April 27, 2012 - 10:04am

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Rating: 4.5/5.0

CHICAGO – “Monsieur Lazhar,” an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film that is now opening at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, deftly handles delicate themes in a way that saves them from the cliché they so often become in the cogs of the Hollywood machine. The set-up sounds like a ‘90s Robin Williams movie as a teacher helps an elementary class deal with tragic loss but this remarkably human, touching, brilliant film never succumbs to melodrama, finding something truthful in the complex relationship between adults and children forced to grow up too soon.

The title character is an Algerian immigrant who comes to a Quebec school after a teacher kills herself during recess. Two of the students, including one who had a tumultuous relationship with the teacher, see the body, but the ripple effect spreads far beyond just the pair. It’s a job no one wants but Lazhar is dealing with immense tragedy of his own and has a healing process that’s definitely still ongoing. It is going to sound as clichéd as can be but “Monsieur Lazhar” is, on one level, about how both the teacher and his students delicately guide each other through the grieving process. How do we find meaning in death? And especially when it seems so random? It’s a tough lesson for adults, an even tougher one for children, and “Monsieur Lazhar” illustrates both the commonalities in the way people of all ages deal with grief and the important differences.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Monsieur Lazhar” in our reviews section.

Philippe Falardeau’s film follows three primary characters – Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag, credited here only by his last name), and the two students who see their teacher’s hanging body, Alice (Sophie Nelisse) and Simon (Emilien Neron). Alice is one of those girls who is already much older than her physical age. She is wise beyond in her years, in no small part due to the fact that her mother is a pilot and, therefore, often gone, even during her grieving process. Simon, on the other hand, feels responsible for his teacher’s death. Like Alice, he’s without clear parental guidance through this process and one of the most interesting elements of “Monsieur Lazhar” is in how it illustrates the fine line between parenting and teaching. A teacher should never be a parent and yet they fulfill so many similar roles, especially when the parents are absent.

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Monsieur Lazhar” review.

“Monsieur Lazhar” stars Fellag, Sophie Nelisse, and Emilien Neron. It was written and directed by Philippe Falardeau. It opens at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago on April 27, 2012.