Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, this French Canadian comedy from Philippe Falardeau (Congorama) tells the tragicomic story of a Montreal middle school class shocked by the suicide of their beloved teacher. With grief in the air and big shoes to fill, Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant, is hired as a substitute. As he tries to pick up the pieces at a fragile time in the kids’ lives, Lazhar is also secretly dealing with a loss of his own. “Like no other film about middle school life that I can recall Monsieur Lazhar conveys the intensity and the fragility of these classroom bonds and the mutual trust they require” (Stephen Holden, New York Times). In French with English subtitles.

Philippe Falardeau---Canada---2011---94 mins.

• Music Box Films
• Release date: 08/28/2012
• Letterboxed