Thoughtful, intelligent, elegant, touching, warm and with some splendid dashes of humour. It almost made me forget myself, which is weird, as well as something of a novelty.

| Aug 31, 2018

Phillipe Falardeau, who adapted the play into a screenplay, can't entirely paper over a few niggling loose ends, but overall this disturbing film is very effective indeed.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 6, 2012

Lazhar is something of a puzzle, and much of the pleasure of Philippe Falardeau's film lies in the gradual unfolding of his reserved yet impulsive personality.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 6, 2012

Very few films offer a moral grandeur, as well as a political foundation; very few films have such poised and brilliant performances from unknown actors.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 6, 2012

Although it raises timeless questions about life and loss, and timely ones about mentorship and multiculturalism, "Monsieur Lazhar" would rather teach than preach.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 1, 2012

A gentle film can still be searing in its effect on an audience, something that "Monsieur Lazhar" proves emphatically.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | May 24, 2012

With a few folds, this story could have made a script for John Barrymore, like Topaze, or for Chaplin.

| May 11, 2012

Fans of Nicolas Philibert's immaculate chronicle of the learning curve, Être et Avoir, are sure to appreciate the warm lessons of this award-winning Canadian film.

| Original Score: 5/5 | May 4, 2012

Monsieur Lazhar remains tight-lipped about his private life, but the audience comes to learn about the great human loss and danger of deportation that clouds his life.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 4, 2012

Only the most obstreperous delinquent could fail to be charmed by Monsieur Lazhar, in which an Algerian refugee plays ramshackle Mary Poppins to the kids at a Montreal primary.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 3, 2012

The film invites comparison with Laurent Cantet's 2008 film The Class, which makes it look tame by comparison, but also Dead Poets Society, which makes it look tough.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 3, 2012

Despite its independent credentials, it feels like a softened remake of a rawer, more compelling story.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 3, 2012

A timely examination of violence in our society through the eyes of those who can't control it.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 3, 2012

You could almost describe 'Monsieur Lazhar' as a morality tale, but it's more thought-provoking than debate-provoking.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 1, 2012

An Oscar nominee at this year's Academy Awards and for good reason, Falardeau's film is moving, smart and sensitive. Terrific stuff, in short.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 29, 2012

Remarkably human, touching, brilliant film that never succumbs to melodrama, finding something truthful in the complex relationship between adults and children forced to grow up too soon.

| Original Score: 4.5/5.0 | Apr 27, 2012

A sad, reflective study of the possibilities, and the impossibilities, inherent in the teacher-student relationship.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 27, 2012

"Monsieur Lazhar" is good. Really good.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 27, 2012

"Monsieur Lazhar" is a complex, multilayered tale that reveals new meanings as it introduces each new character.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 26, 2012

A standard liberal tale about an inspirational teacher gradually deepens into a quiet study of how grief works its way through a community.

| Apr 26, 2012