Etre Et Avoir DVD > Reviews > Etre et Avoir

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good

Advantages:	An observant, insightful and often funny documentary .
Disadvantages:	Takes a while to get started

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This documentary by Nicholas Philbert chronicles a year in the life of the sole teacher, Geroges Lopez, in a rural french primary school in the Auvergne.

He teaches only 13 children ranging from the brand new four year olds to the 11 year olds preparing to transfer to the secondary school in the town. With each age group, Lopez exhibits a balance of tenderness coupled with a firm hand which succeeds in ensuring his small band of pupils live harmoniously side by side.

Pupil teacher relations are tenderly observed, from JoJo, the youngest in the class, learning to read, write and count and win the approval of his teacher, to Natalie, a reticent 11 year old who is coaxed out of her shell by a gentle Lopez.

We experience with the children visits to the countryside(and a terrifying moment when one of the youngest pupils, Alize, is lost in the fields), to a visit into town to introduce the 11 year olds to their prospective secondary school.

Lopez displays a truly inspirational method of teaching with his patient dedication to his pupils and the end of the school year, which also means the end of his school career for Lopez-he is retiring, is the most moving moment of the film.

I would highly recommend this film to anybody who would like to have an insight into what teaching is really all about, and perhaps be reminded of their own time at school.

The film is obviously in french but the DVD comes with the option of english subtitles, which can be turned on or off, depending on whether you want a challenge or not. Without subtitles, the film is a great learning tool for french students, since much of the dialgue is spoken by young children, and is thus slower and simpler and easier to understand.