"The Class" (or, by its original title, Entre Les Murs) reminded me of The Story of the Weeping Camel. Not because it was really "Mongolian", but because it was a window (a small, rectangular, 90 minute bathroom window, but a window) into another culture. French culture in this case, which is much more similar to mine own.
Like The Story of the Weeping Camel, The Class makes the viewer think of a documentary even though it is obvious that it isn't one. But it wasn't filled with flawless Hollywood actors, it had a shaky camera, and it was "Vividly Realistic", short on plot and heavy on character by design. Real life has one thing leading to another, but there isn't a dramatic conclusion and there isn't one here. There are only incidents and episodes that occur in the course of a year.
That is not a recipe palatable to everyone. Or even most people. It is the type of recipe that makes people suspect there will be a metallic "artistic" flavor. But if that is what you are expecting, it can an enjoyable movie. I especially like the casting. Hollywood actors can get tiresome.
The Class is supposed to be about a class of relativity disruptive and unruly suburbian children. Kids who are likely to be forgotten by France's educational system which places a disturbing amount of faith on one test after your "high school" education. This test will decide whether the student goes to "grande ecolar" or crappy technical college. Discipline in the school seems very authoritarian from my perspective, but then from my perspective that class isn't all that unruly or horrid. There is question, however, whether it is working very well.
If you want to know more, watch the bloody movie. It is interesting to the sociologist or psychologist.
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