‘Monsieur Lazhar’ is a sweet, mature story about coming together in the wake of tragedy
Based on a play by Évelyne de la Chenelière, Falardeau’s film is sophisticated in its approach for dealing with a multitude of terrifyingly sensitive subjects, among them children dealing with death, immigration procedures and the unification of disparate cultures for harmonious purposes. Refusing to paint with broad strokes, it broaches these topics with a touch of class and intelligence, revealing a sense of maturity that should be a prerequisite for any movie tackling these ideas.
