A Better Life (2011)

Luis: You wanna be nice to this bitch? Huh? What about all that shit you said about movin' to a better neighborhood? To a better house? To a better school? How the hell are we gonna do it now?

Carlos (Demian Bichir), an illegal Mexican immigrant, would go to any extent to ensure his son gets all that he didn't. Already submerged in debt, and working even on Sundays to provide for his son, he needs that last chance where he can turn things around. Borrowing money from his sister, he buys that truck from his former employer and dreams of "growing it into something big". Only that fate doesn't always smile on poor people.

A series of events follow where his truck gets stolen, and the search for it holds the key to a way out  - and a better life. The movie takes a humane look at the daily struggles of illegal immigrants pitted against a hostile environment ("Too many Mexicans, too few bullets"). Director Chris Weitz, himself having Mexican roots, deals with the subject matter with great sensitivity.

Rating - 7/10

Monsieur Lazhar (2011)

My 2nd movie review is also another movie on teachers which was among the nominations for this year's Oscars in the Foreign language film category. Directed by Philippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar tells the story of an Algerian immigrant, Bachir Lazhar (Mohammed Fellag), who is hired as a replacement following the suicide of Martine, a popular, yet troubled, teacher.

Bachir Lazhar passes himself off as a teacher with 19 years of experience and a permanent resident of Canada. While we later get to know he is dealing with his own troubles after the death of his wife and daughter and is actually a refugee seeking political asylum. As someone dealing with loss, he tries to reach out to his students and wants them to express their thoughts. However, this doesn't go down really well with the school administration and the parents of the children. The performances of the child actors, specially Alice (Sophie Nelisse) and Simon (Emilien Neron) are something to take note of. Alice comes across as a really mature kid for her age when she tries to question Martine's suicide inside the classroom as a message of violence.

We observe a few understated moments of a friendship between Bachir and his colleague, Ms Claire Martel. Ironically, even though Bachir encourages his students to express themselves, his own reluctance to talk about his feelings and the cultural gap never helps in his relationships taking off. The movie plays out in a very delicate manner and it is those small things here and there that make it quite a revelation. The movie ends with his status being found out and he being asked to leave. Though unlike Martine, he meets his students a final time and narrates a beautiful story, saying goodbye without ever explicitly stating it.

Rating - 8/10

Detachment (2011)

 

"It's easy to be careless, but it takes great courage and character to care"

With a great ensemble of actors, here comes another masterpiece from Tony Kaye, the director of American History X. We are taken to the world of teacher-student relations through the eyes of Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody), a substitute teacher who drifts from one school to another in order to avoid any connection with his students. He doesn't want to commit and believes his only responsibility is "to maintain order, to make sure no one kills anyone in your classroom and then make it to the next period". Yet this stint is unlike any other.

"I'm money, I change hands like dollar bills, that's been robbed by a lamp; then a Jeanie appeared and cried loudly, with volume; but the tears were all for myself and that's when it all went wrong"

As the movie progresses, we see flashes of the "faceless" man's childhood as deep-buried emotions are kindled  in him in the presence of two women - a street hooker and a student who doesn't fit in. Haunted by memories of his mother's death since he was just 7, he likes to believe he has gotten used to loss & failure. Yet something within him makes him stand up for the two lost souls as he understands too well how important it is for someone to have guidance, something he didn't have while growing up.

Released during a time of high unemployment and Occupy Wall Street movement,  this movie gives us a peek into the lives of teachers and their daily struggles in dealing with students' callousness and the high expectations of parents who are never really there for their kids.

Rating - 7.5/10