First of all I just want to say that this movie in my oppinion is the worst movie that I have seen in a long time. The acting was mainly done by unprofessionals and it shows. It drags on forever and is barely able to develope a completely unengaging plot. The setting is incredibly boring in that the entire movie takes place in the schoolyard and in a classroom of an urban French school. The plot and writing gives almost no insight to motives and backgrounds of the charachters. It indicates that french education is a joke because throughout the entire movie, which takes place over the course of a school year, the students are depicted completing only one assignment and 99% of the movie is the students and teacher talking and the students questioning the teacher's authority, which is completely unoriginal. Finally the ending was terrible because the screen just goes black right in the climax of what little action there is in the movie. I would rather set my own balls on fire than watch this movie again. It could just be that this movie isn't geared toward american audiences, but in any case I highly recomend that you save yourself some money and don't watch this movie.

This is a wonderful film - it's utterly convincing. I found it quite gripping, too - each verbal exchange kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see who would come out on top.
The film illuminates brilliantly and, I think, even-handedly aspects of race, class, adolescence and education that we normally shy away from confronting.
The context is very specifically French (where the distinction between 'tu' and 'vous' is critical). The workings of post-1968 democracy are intriguing (I presume it's not normal in UK for class reps to sit in on meetings where student grades are allocated?). Racial tensions seem more raw and explosive in Paris than they are in London. But although this could only be France, the themes and messages are universal. One of the messages is that most teachers are saints (but also human)!

I loved this film and think it does well at showing the different classes of students in Paris and the struggles that teachers go through trying to reach everyone in a short amount of time