I was thrilled to attend the advance screening of Laurent Cantet's latest film "The Class". The screenplay was inspired by François Bégaudeau's 2006 novel of the same name. François Bégaudeau is credited as co-writer of the screenplay and also stars in the film as the literature teacher. Of course it is another brilliant film from Cantet, but what strikes me the most is the untrained actors playing the students. They are absolutely amazing. I had to remind myself this was not a documentary but actual kids playing the parts. Cantet captured the world of a Paris inner-school through subtle emotional tugs which is refreshing against of the obvious teacher/student narratives so popular in American movies.One of many awards won: Palme d'Or at 2008 Cannes Film Festival
The Class official website
Useless but interesting geek fact: Novelist and untrained actor François Bégaudeau was a member of the 1990s punk rock group Zabriskie Pont.
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