Être et Avoir (2002)
A look inside nursery school classrooms
Starring: Georges Lopes, Alizé, Axel, Guillaume, Jessie, Johan (Jojo), Johann, Jonathan, Julien, Laura, Létitia, Marie-Elisabeth, Nathalie and Olivier
Director: Nicolas Philibert
Running Time: 104 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: U
Documentary
The problem with describing a film about a teacher's relationship with a group of pupils as 'inspirational' is that this will inevitably conjure up Hollywood films like 'Dead Poets' Society', 'Stand and Deliver' or 'Dangerous Minds', in which a young, maverick educator stirs up the establishment and breaks all the rules in order to perform the extraordinary miracle of transforming hopeless wards into prize-winning romantic geniuses. Yet Nicolas Philibert's 'Être et Avoir' offers an antidote to this cliche - it is a documentary set in rural France, the teacher is something of a traditionalist, near retirement age, and he teaches his pupils only enough to get them into middle school.
In a single classroom at Saint-Etienne sur Usson, Georges Lopes teaches thirteen local children whose ages range between 4 and 10. Softly spoken, patient, considerate, reasonable, and preferring to ask questions than to state answers, Lopes inculcates not only the rudiments of formal education and home economics, but also more abstract notions of honour, justice, obligation, and death. It becomes clear very quickly in the documentary that the children do not just respect Lopes, but also love him, and their love is obviously reciprocated, so that there is profoundly moving pathos in the closing scene, in which Lopes says his final farewells to the children at the end of the school year and is then left behind, alone in an empty classroom.
Apart from an interview with Lopes regarding his own childhood and his move into teaching, 'Être et Avoir' has no commentary, instead relying on carefully selected sequences of contrast for its messages and dramas to emerge. Thus the whole film is structured around the shift from a harsh snowy winter to a gloriously sunny summer; and a scene in which Lopes skilfully defuses a violent fight between two older boys, Julien and Olivier, is offset by a scene at Julien's home, where the uncle and father argue confusedly about how to solve Julien's maths homework, while the mother slaps Julien for making mistakes. Such scenes provide insight both into the children's background and behaviour, and into the challenges which Lopes faces, and overcomes, as their teacher.
Despite the old edict that you should never work with children or animals, Philibert proves a master at capturing with his camera cows, terrapins, dogs and remarkably unselfconscious young pupils. He also has an eye for the poetic, and in one particular scene a search for a missing girl through tall fields of wheat is transformed into a spectacular and striking image of the world as an all-engulfing place of mystery and menace.
As a powerful meditation on time and education, 'Être et Avoir' is truly inspirational, but not on the unattainably idealised scale of Hollywood. No genius, no rebellion, no victory - just the quiet, everyday miracle of very young children developing under the tutelage of an expert teacher. It will contribute more to a rise in teaching applications than any government initiative.
It's Got: humour, pathos, and lots of very cute kids
It Needs: to be used by the Department of Education to recruit teachers
Alternatives: 'Goodbye Mr Chips', 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'
Summary: A captivating documentary on the influence of a dedicated teacher on the intellectual and emotional development of young children.
Review Date: 23rd July 2003
External Links
Être et Avoir at the IMDB
Comments1 Comment |
| I agree with the exact opposite of everything you've written. The greatest example of this is crystalized in the passage: "prefering to ask questions than to states answers" ????? !!!! Were we watching the same movie i wonder? An obvious and complete contradiction of this is apparent in his intimate conversation with Nathalie, the shy girl who can't seem to speak to anyone. He asks questions, yes, but she NEVER answers. He doesn't give her the time to answer, and then answers FOR her. In the end, we still have no idea why she doesn't socialize. Mr. Lopez 'decides' it's just a phase, and that it will pass! I wanted to jump at the screen at tear the canvas on multiple occasions, as this scenario kept repeating itself. It appeared again in the confrontation between Julien and Olivier, where he did most of the talking, and inferred much of what happened. And again when Johann pushed the little boy in the mud. He made Johann apologise, even though the other little boy was the first to instigate physical contact. I grew up in France, and later moved to the US. I was appalled as memories of kindergarten and elementary school resurfaced while watching this film. During dictation, Mr. Lopez scolds one of the kids, saying "is this the imperfect? an e with an accent? does that look like the imperfect ending we JUST talked about?" Would you ever speak to a small child in that way?? The only time it is arguably appropriate to scold a child is when he misbehaves, or decides down a path that he knows to be wrong. NOT when he can't remember the ending to the imperfect tense. I remember that's how teachers spoke to me in my childhood. It's embarrassing, and makes you feel like an idiot. This is especially unacceptable, since if a student fails, it invariably means that the teacher failed. As a child, the only thing worse than a scolding from your parents, is one from your teachers. I loved this movie for very personal reasons, because it reminded my of my childhood I had almost forgotten. But this teacher reminded of every single teacher I've ever had... impatient, scolding, preferring to speak rather than listen to me. I don't doubt George Lopez is a good man who cares about his pupils. I also don't doubt that he is a terrible teacher. Almost as terrible as your review. I give it 2-10. |
| Comment by:- seiya | | 07 May 2004 | ip: logged |
