Carleton’s Canadian studies society brought together different worlds and different cultures with a screening of Monsieur Lazhar at the ByTowne Cinema Feb. 28.
The event showcased qualities that distinguish French Canadian culture from English Canadian culture, said organizer and Canadian studies student Cara Des Granges. Additional screenings of the film will take place until March 6.
Monsieur Lazhar was an ideal choice given its recent Oscar nomination for foreign-language film, Des Granges said in an email.
“This shows that the film, like many other Québécois movies, can be successful both in its province as well as a wider American, or global, audience,” Des Granges said.
Monsieur Lazhar inhabits two different worlds, one in the past and one in the present — civil war Algeria and a classroom in Montreal reeling from unexpected tragedy.
The titular character is a refugee and a teacher of 19 years who volunteers to teach the Montreal class, whose teacher just hanged herself inside the very classroom where she teaches. Two students are unfortunate enough to find her body before the other teachers realize the situation. This starts a chain of events that eventually leads to healing for the traumatized students and laying to rest their new teacher’s troubled past.
During an appearance on the CBC, Gatineau-born director Philippe Falardeau said the Oscar nomination was “a dream that [he] never imagined [he] would have, that is realizing itself.” The director said he never expected his Montreal-set, quintessentially Canadian film to become so beloved and acclaimed among international audiences.
The film strikes a delicate balance between weighty melancholia, light-hearted humour, and heart-felt sincerity. In one scene, the viewers see the children’s reactions as they struggle with their teacher’s death while in another the children ask Monsieur Lazhar to come into their class portrait, and say his name rather than the classic ‘cheese.’
Falardeau told the CBC he was touched by experiences with his own teacher, who encouraged him to keep up his English, opening up the possibilities to work in film. As a tribute, one of the teachers in the film is named after Falardeau’s grade five gym teacher.
Falardeau crafted the film out of what was originally a one-act play, entitled Bashir Lazhar, utilizing a largely unknown ensemble cast and casting an Algerian actor and satirist in his first dramatic role. While A Separation beat out Monsieur Lazhar for the Oscar, Des Granges said the film can still teach viewers a lot.
“This is something I am certain we can examine in Canadian studies, with what some may see as Canada’s complex relationship with the United States,” she said. “A mentality that can be best summed up by some as ‘We want to be different from ‘them’ but we also want their praise.'”
