Le Maître d'école
1981 Comedy
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Credits
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Summary
When he loses his job as a shop assistant, Gérard Barbier decides to become a
primary school teacher. He is given no training and he is warned that the job is
difficult and badly remunerated. Still, his love of children and his enthusiasm
carries him through his first few difficult days. One of his fellow schoolteachers,
Mademoiselle Lajoie, attempts to seduce him and then, depressed by her job, tries to
kill herself. With Mademoiselle Lajoie in hospital and the headmaster off with
‘flu, Gérard ends up having two cope with three classes of children.
Review
Coluche is the star of this limp comedy which, despite a few amusing sequences, generally
fails to satisfy. Instead of making any meaningful observations on the teaching
profession, the film lazily falls back on tired old clichés and doesn’t really
have much to offer except for Coluche’s winning deadpan comedy. There is some
amusement to be had in some of the classroom scenes – particularly those where
Coluche allows his canny pupils to steer a discussion into areas where no sane schoolteacher
would want to go. In the end, the film just runs out of stream and the only reward
for anyone staying the course is the closing song from Alain Souchon.
© James Travers 2004 Write a review for this film... |
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