Monsieur Lazhar Reviews

There's great potential for the kind of issues that are taken on, but nothing is resolved, and the biggest questions, of guilt and shame, the gulf of understanding between the first world and the third, remain unengaged.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

The film, alas, seems determined to be as careful, as gentle, as Lazhar himself.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

Monsieur Lazhar is so discreet that it never quite comes to life.

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By the time you realise how invested you are in this tale it is too late: Monsieur Lazhar has you. I consider myself a cinematic Chuck Norris, but this film had me blubbering like a baby.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5

While "Monsieur Lazhar" is a decent film, I wish it would have done more to stand out from other similar films.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

While it may not stand out from similar movies, Monsieur Lazhar is a sweet film with a simple story and remains engaging thanks in large part to Mohamed Fellag's charming performance.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10

Monsieur Lazhar never pretends to be anything but a grown-up fable, and it's a captivating one.

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Falardeau offers a film as believably wrenching, and finally cathartic, as the grieving process itself.

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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.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5

This is cinema at its most impactful.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5

The acting is stellar throughout the film, from the one-named Algerian actor Fellag's subtle and warm portrayal of the title character, to the cast of precocious children who make up his classroom.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10

Under Falardeau's inconspicuous lens, life plays out with rare authenticity; not just its tragedies, but its triumphs, its mishaps and its incidental interludes

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Philippe Falardeau's direction is a model of the notion that less is more, and this film is a treat well worth savoring.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4

Broaching tough material in a tactful, sensitive manner, Monsieur Lazhar is a potent, stirring gem of Canadian cinema.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

It's a subtle meditation on catharsis, and a gentle indictment of over-regulated education...

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

The rare sort of movie that chooses not to focus on the dramatic, pivotal moments that happen in life, but what comes after.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

There's a lighthearted inspiration infused throughout Monsieur Lazhar that makes it also touching, but never maudlin.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10

Fellag does for the film what his Lazhar does for the pupils: He's soothing and entrancingly enigmatic enough to keep us fixed to our seats.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

a naturalistic ensemble drama about the possibilities - and the limitations - of the teacher-pupil relationship ... probably too low-key for mainstream multiplex tastes, Monsieur Lazhar is a temperate, generous and deeply affecting experience.

Full Review | Original Score: 88/100

Its purpose is to present us with a situation, explore the people involved and show us a man who is dealing with his own deep hurts.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4