Christopher Honore and Francois Ozon are my favorite directors working in France today. Check out The Beautiful People (La Belle Personne) if you're into the sub-genre of "boarding school" films or into French Cinema in general. While not actually told at a boarding school, the important themes of authority and youth rebellion are there. Interestingly, this film and The Class couldn't be more dissimilar in their depiction of school in Paris. Nevertheless, perhaps they're equally relevant in their depictions of French society. The Class's realism vs The Beautiful People's bourgeois idealism. Their third act turning points make the best caparison. A teacher's failure to handle the schizophrenic diversity that is contemporary multicultural inclusion, and the other teacher's far more idyllically french moral tale of love and adolescence. In The Class, the students quickly outgrow their teacher, without considering the fact that doing so undermines their own privileged position as students. In the Beautiful People, the educator goes beyond relating to students, to having sexual relations with them. It's no wonder why The Class's title is so poignant. I'm conflicted because I enjoyed Christopher Honore's film much more, and perhaps this concern can attributed to the typical bourgeois guilt, that for which The Class's educator too suffers from.
No comments:
Post a Comment