Monsieur Lazhar

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.

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.

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.

If anything, Falardeau most calls into question the world and the ways in which we are raising our children.