A Montreal elementary school is traumatized by a suicide in the classroom of a popular instructor. Can the hiring of an Algerian immigrant, Monsieur Lazhar, as the new teacher have a salutary effect, especially when he carries the lethal baggage of his own demons and tragedies? Philippe Falardeau's well-deserved 2012 Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film is a subtle, wise, beautifully rendered tale, with exemplary scenes in the classroom between an amateur cast of savvy children and, as Monsieur Lazhar, a great actor, Mohamed Fellag. In real life, Fellag fled Algeria when his life was threatened for his secular, politically engaged, satiric stage performance.
