Synopsis
During a harsh Montréal winter, an elementary-school class is left reeling after its teacher commits suicide. Bachir Lazhar, a charismatic Algerian immigrant, steps in as the substitute teacher for the classroom of traumatized children. All the while, he must keep his personal life tucked away: the fact that he is seeking political refuge in Québec – and that he, like the children, has suffered an appalling loss.
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Cast
- Mohamed FellagBachir Lazhar
- Émilien NéronSimon
- Danielle ProulxMme Vaillancourt
- Sophie NélisseAlice L'Écuyer
- Marie-Ève BeauregardMarie-Frédérique
- Denise LamontagneParent
- Brigitte PoupartClaire
- Louis ChampagneConcierge
- Daniel GadouasMe Gilbert Danis
- Vincent MillardVictor
Recommendations
- 100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
It's an exquisite, humanistic and subtly topical work of cinema art that manages to keep the intimate, revelatory sensibility of a one-man play intact while fleshing out the characters and creating a very realistic and richly detailed school community. - 91
The A.V. Club
More than a class full of convincing child actors and a genuinely affecting performance by Fellag, Falardeau offers a film as believably wrenching, and finally cathartic, as the grieving process itself. - 90
Village Voice
Nélisse, with her tough, Courtney Love puss, and Néron's portrayal of a boy's well-defended torment are extraordinary, as is the film's realization of the small, temporary world that surrounds them. Hitting upon that kind of specificity - of a moment and its emotion - makes for strong memories and a really great movie. - 88
Miami Herald
Monsieur Lazhar doesn't send you home depressed. Instead, the film leaves you hopeful, and even exhilarated, that even the most painful wounds can sometimes heal. - 80
Boxoffice Magazine
The kids, especially Néron and Nélisse are irresistible and supporting players are well-cast. Human dramas like Monsieur Lazhar are a rare breed these days and this exceptional example is one to be cherished. - 70
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Ineffably sad - yet there's almost no loitering. The film is crisp, evenly paced, its colors bright, as sharp as the winter cold. - 70
Variety
Quietly intelligent and respectable. - 63
Slant Magazine
There's great potential for the kind of issues that are taken on, but nothing is resolved, and the biggest questions, of guilt and shame, the gulf of understanding between the first world and the third, remain unengaged.
