Film Style
The Class, filmed in a school setting using untrained actors and improvisation techniques, represents a blend of reality and drama. Each sequence within the film needs to work as a part of the whole without seeming artificial; the director and editors must bring the film together through narrative, characterisation, camerawork, editing and all the other aspects of filmmaking needed to make a film coherent. The film’s French title, Entre les Murs (Between the Walls, from the book of the same title), clearly establishes the action within a particular environment – but it becomes clear that what takes place between these walls has a much greater resonance.
General questions
- To what extent can documentary filmmaking capture the true nature of any situation or environment? Consider any examples of the genre that you know of, thinking about their purpose and construction.
- The Class is shot as a ‘docudrama’ – a style of filmmaking that combines features of documentary with familiar aspects of drama. What freedoms or restrictions might you associate with either style of production?
- What value can you see in exploring issues to do with education, identity, democracy, society and social cohesion within the context of this film?