Q:Build a movie plot around this: What assignment does Marin gives his students? Write self-portraits
A:
The film covers an academic year, beginning with the teachers gathering for the autumn term, introducing themselves to each other and being welcomed by the principal, an unsmiling figure wearing rimless glasses. It ends with an informal game of football between staff and pupils and a long hand-held shot of an empty classroom.The camera never leaves the school. The film is set in the staff room, the playground, the dining room, the principal's office, a conference room, and the classroom where Francois Marin (Francois Begaudeau) teaches French (i.e., language arts) to a mixed group of 13- and 14-year-olds.The film centers around Marin and the various experiences he has with students in his French literature class. The class is difficult, as Marin is unable to relate to his students due to his ethnicity and class status . Marin makes various attempts to try and garner trust and respect from his students but fails miserably . At the students protest of their dislike of the required reading material Anne Frank due to lack of cultural relevance, Marin tries to gain insight into the lives of his pupils. He assigns them to write self-portraits which describe their aspirations, hobbies and dislikes. These are eventually collated by Marin who creates an end-of-year book with them. Most of his students respond positively to this assignment including Soulemayne, a student from Mali whom Marin allows to complete a photographic autobiography . However all this new found trust and respect that Marin gets from his students quickly dissipates after a faculty meeting in which two of his students are allowed to attend as class representatives . Marin would go on to make disparaging comments about one of his students in this meeting and even more disparaging remarks about the class representatives who would serve to be whistle blowers later on in the film . The film concludes with consequences of Marin's actions and failures that ultimately leave him unscathed and one of his students expelled . The film explores themes of...