Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, "Monsieur Lazhar" tells the poignant story of a Montreal middle school class shaken by the death of their well-liked teacher and trying to heal. Bachir Lazhar (Fellag), a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant, offers the school his services as a substitute teacher and is quickly hired. As he helps the children heal, he also learns to accept his own painful past. This moving film features exquisite performances by Fellag and a stunning ensemble of child actors.Algerian actor Mohamed Fellag in the Quebec film Monsieur Lazhar.Algerian actor Mohamed Fellag in the Quebec film Monsieur Lazhar.MONTREAL - In the hands of a less talented filmmaker, Monsieur Lazhar could so easily have ended up a syrupy tear-jerker. But writer-director Philippe Falardeaus adaptation of Evelyne de la Chenelires play avoids the maudlin at all costs, keeps things refreshingly understated and manages to deliver charming comic moments in the telling of what could have been a grim story. Produced by Luc Dry and Kim McCraw, the same duo behind last years Oscar nominee Incendies, this looks likely to follow in Incendies footsteps, winning over audiences here and nabbing much recognition beyond Quebecs borders.

Monsieur Lazhar is Canadas submission to the Academy Awards in the foreign-language film category, it won the honours as best Canadian feature at the Toronto International Film Festival last month and took home two prizes at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland in August.De la Chenelires play Bashir Lazhar featured only M. Lazhar himself on stage. For the big screen, Falardeau has necessarily widened his lens, pun intended, but not by all that much. It remains a surprisingly simple story in many ways and the power of the film comes from Falardeaus decision to cut to the essence of this drama. There may be more characters than the original stage version but nothing is superfluous here.The film opens in a wintry schoolyard where two young kids, Simon (milien Nron) and Alice (Sophie Nlisse) are chatting. Simon runs off to pick up the milk cartons to deliver to the classrooms and inadvertently walks in to see something no kid should ever have to set eyes on. His teacher has hanged herself.

The principal, Madame Vaillancourt (Danielle Proulx), tells the students at an assembly that they have to get through this thing together and the school brings in a psychologist to help make that happen. But the principal is having trouble finding a replacement teacher.Thats when Bachir Lazhar (Fellag) arrives on the scene.Im not anyones father, says this mild-mannered Algerian, in response to the principals query.He tells her he has come on his own initiative after reading about the teachers suicide in the paper and he fibs that he has nearly 20 years of teaching experience back home in Algeria. The wrinkle, we soon discover, is that he was never a teacher.Much of the film revolves around his difficult adaptation both to teaching and dealing with kids in a culture he doesnt fully understand. He thinks these grade-sixers should be reading Honor de Balzac. They have no idea who Balzac is or what the heck hes writing about.Along the way, it becomes clear that Lazhar, just like his students, is coming to grips with heavy-duty baggage in his own life, and former pals Simon and Alice are waging their own little emotional battle related to the death of the teacher.The film deals with the issue of what its like to be a refugee fighting deportation, but Falardeaus smart enough not to whack us over the head with anything resembling a political message. For a film with so little action, there is actually a lot going on here. As Falardeau says, you can take what you want from the film. It touches on the heroic struggle of public-school teachers, delves into how kids and adults come to grips with grief and maybe most importantly shows how words can sometimes heal all wounds.Watch free movies online

Nron and Nlisse are perfect, but so are so many of the supporting players, including Proulx as the overwhelmed school administrator and Brigitte Poupart as a fellow teacher who takes a shine to M. Lazhar. But in the end, this remarkable picture is carried by the single-named Algerian actor Fellag, who makes this strange man so entirely believable but who never overplays the part. That both Fellag and Falardeau resist the obvious temptation of turning him into a Hollywood hero is the real reason this film packs such emotional force.We critics spend so much time carping about crappy films that it takes a bit of an adjustment when something comes along that just plain works.Monsieur Lazhar is one such film: a cinematic story that is so effective, it seems almost effortless.To reveal the inner workings of why Philippe Falardeau's movie succeeds would be like unwrapping someone else's gift. Instead, I'll try to entice you by describing a scene near the beginning.In a busy Montreal school, a young boy ends recess early to help distribute cartons of milk. When he reaches the door of his classroom, he sees something horrible. We watch the boy run off down the hallway, presumably to alert his teachers.As the camera remains trained on the empty hallway, we wait and hear the sound of kids coming back into the school. The clamour gets louder until, at the last moment, a teacher rushes in and ushers them away from the classroom door.

Stripping the scene down to its bare essentials, Falardeau increases the tension while at the same time never showing us what the teachers are trying to spare the children from seeing: the body of their teacher, who has hung herself in the classroom.Monsieur Lazhar is a movie about grief, guilt and mourning. The students and their late teacher are linked. Stepping into the scene, with the smell of fresh paint still in the air, is Monsieur Lazhar: a substitute teacher from Algeria who carries his own personal baggage.Fellag as M. LazharFellag, an Algerian comedian and humourist, takes a serious turn in Monsieur Lazhar. (Vro Boncompagni/eOne films)This is a quiet film, filled with gentle moments. That's not to say this is a movie without weight, but this drama does have a way of sneaking up on you. The natural performances Falardeau draws out of his actors could be part of its power. Working with children can be tricky, but Monsieur Lahzar manages to capture the key window when young people are struggling to define themselves and take responsibility for their actions.

With their absent parents and busy schedules, it sometimes seems the young students are left on their own. It's up to them and this strange and stuffy substitute teacher to carve a path through the bureaucrats and make peace with the past.Luckily for the class, and for the audience, we have Mohamed Fellag as Lazhar. He's an odd fit in this bustling city school -- a teacher who dictates from Balzac and wears his single, threadbare sports jacket as a suit of armour. Fellag gives us a man who is thoughtful and persistent.