[Translation of the film review from Frederic Miguel: Editor-in-Chief of a well-known French film review website] Link to the original text: https://www.avoir-alire.com/entre-les-murs-la-critique
Director Kang Tai went deep into the "Problem Junior High School" in the "Education Priority Area [1]" in Paris and showed its problems one by one. Few films have been as realistically shot as this one. A classic.
The film "Between the Walls" recommended by the Palme d'Or judge Sean Penn[2] won the Palme d'Or in 2008 for its deeply rooted human nature and social reality. Such a wide-screen movie was filmed deep into a real junior high school in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. The young actors in it looked as if they were acting in their true colors, but in fact, they all exploded in their acting skills.
The plot of the film seems to be improvised, but it is actually choreographed. The script was adapted from the own literary works of the star, François Begoteau, who has since become an actor and playwright. This film truly achieves an in-depth analysis of a specific teaching environment. The uniqueness of the film is that it can hand over the rights to the actors and let them act and speak boldly. Through the daily bickering between teachers and students and the anecdotes between students in the corridors between classes, director Kang Tai is committed to highlighting the school's teaching characteristics and the joys and sorrows of the students from the most inconspicuous corners of the school.
There are no characters like "the mainstay of the school", no superheroes, no shameful victims, and no group of lawless crazy students. The students in the film are no different from real French students, sometimes endearing and sometimes repugnant; they question the French education system, feeling that they are just a few replaceable archives in the eyes of their teachers. But in fact, their rebellious words and deeds are to integrate the small society in which they live (the 20th arrondissement of Paris is an area where French young people and low- and middle-income people gather, and there are many immigrants) to distinguish the rich bourgeois society. They are born aware of the difference between themselves and the bourgeoisie, and even feel that they are the originator of this difference.
Director Kang Tae captured all the loneliness in everyone's heart.
The loneliness of the students is slightly embarrassing because of their emotional catharsis; the powerful loneliness of the parents and the powerless loneliness of the teachers. In addition to this, there is the loneliness of the whole community: the constantly updated teaching system, the trend of education oriented by the wealthy... The screenwriter is not here to satirize contemporary French education, he just wants to show his teaching methods to audience.
With a down-to-earth approach to filming, the film explains a powerful social reality that goes far beyond commercial films that focus on mobilizing the audience's emotions. This film provides space for everyone to think, especially those who want to gain insight into all social phenomena.
We all live in a society where labels and prejudice are the main mechanisms. Many people only hear media reports, and may never have a chance to have a conversation with students in high school with these problems in their entire lives. As recently as 2008, there were still many who felt that these children were uneducated and that the teachers who taught them had no trouble enjoying high stipends. I highly recommend anyone with this idea to watch this movie.
[1] Education priority area: The “education priority area” implemented by the French government nationwide in 1981 is an education policy that favors disadvantaged groups. The purpose of the establishment is to overcome academic failure and to address the imbalance in educational development between different communities that already exists in French society. Through the establishment of "education priority areas", schools in disadvantaged communities will be given special support in teaching, teachers, policies, etc., so as to narrow the gap in educational development in different communities. (Source: China Net)
[2] Sean Penn: famous American actor, director and screenwriter.
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