Well, Entre les Murs (The Class is the English title) was finally released on dvd this week.
https://www.wor.com/products/entre-les-murs-the-class
I watched it the other night with our 15 year old and 20 year old son. At first, we all really enjoyed it. If you had muted the sound, you might have thought this was a typical American classroom, some white students, some black students, even a couple of Asian students. However, with the sound, you discover most of the black students are immigrants from Africa. Unlike many Hispanic students in the U.S., they all spoke fluent French. However, many of their parents could not read the notes sent home by the teacher. It was interesting to see how the different teachers viewed these students and how the main teacher, François, interacted with his class.
However, after an hour, we all got a little bored with the film. There is no real plot, it is definitely more of a documentary. While I think it is a great film to show in many high schools (but it is rated PG-13 because of bad language), I would show maybe half of it, not the entire film. I also think for advanced classes - French IV and AP - have them read the book first - then they should appreciate the film even more. https://www.wor.com/products/entre-les-murs-the-class
I would definitely like to hear what others think of the film!
