Monsieur Lazhar

I'm trying to think of some way I can talk about the film aspects of this movie that matter and give the movie meaning. But when I was watching it I barely noticed really interesting, meaningful types of shots or interesting montages. For the most part, not much was new to me. Shots of children playing in the snowy playground were from far away and slightly above -a gaze of a distant spectator. Many shots of Monsieur Lazhar, whose past is slightly mysterious and whose present thoughts and emotions are not  explicitly expressed (except for his suggestions to the principal about how to help his class deal with their grief) are close ups in profile. Many shots show the relationship between M. Lazhar and his students by the contrast of their heights, reflecting a divide, or his getting on their level to demonstrate unity. I don't think this film used the medium in any special way to convey his emotions.

There was one moment, though, that stands out to me still as being subtle and strong. We see M. Lazhar walking down the stairs from dinner with a fellow teacher. The camera watches the back of his neck -so that I imagine his eyes staring at the african violets he is holding. He walks so slowly -two feet per step -that he seems drunk. The length of the shot adds to its tension -it is long enough for me to question if he's going to fall down the stairs. There is plenty of time for me to wonder what is going on in his head and how he is feeling. The next shot cuts to his front as he's standing still on the stairs. We can finally see his face, so I can assess how he's feeling. He looks sad, anguished, as if he did not know how to feel about going over to have dinner with this teacher (who finds him interesting, and maybe likes him, and maybe he likes her too -subtly). The shots do not suggest that he is simply miserable. There is a question in the two shots together -how is he changing (moving on)? The african violets he is holding, given to him by the other teacher, signify hope, spring, and healing, and more. I think these two shots show M. Lazhar in a moment of transition -or this is the moment where a spurt of personal growth begins.