The Class

François Marin teaches French at a middle school in a working-class district of Paris, where his students are mostly in their early teens and many come from immigrant backgrounds. Rather than imposing his authority, he engages them in verbal sparring and treats language itself as something worth fighting over. His frankness unsettles the class, and when some students begin to challenge his teaching methods, his commitment to a fair and democratic classroom is put under strain. The film is a drama set largely within the school, and it follows a school year rather than a single storyline, presenting the classroom as a small version of contemporary French society.

Laurent Cantet directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Robin Campillo and François Bégaudeau, whose book inspired the film. Bégaudeau plays a character based on himself, alongside a cast drawn largely from students, including Arthur Fogel, Damien Gomes, Esmeralda Ouertani, Rachel Regulier and Louise Grinberg. The production, backed by French companies and television channels, cost relatively little but took about 29 million dollars worldwide, a strong return for this kind of film. It was Cantet's second feature, preceding The Workshop by nine years.

Audience response has been solid rather than unanimous: on IMDb it holds 7.5 out of 10 from around 37,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7 out of 10 from roughly 739 votes. Critics were markedly more enthusiastic, giving it 8.3 out of 10 from 158 reviews.