School Of Babel

A group of children from across the face of the earth meet in a class room in Paris in order to learn French and assimilate into society. We see their everyday lives that are filled with hard work, friendship and tears. From the first day in the class we have arguments, frustration and various languages. Taken into a French society that is in transition. The children are faced with challenges. Some scared of losing their ‘identity’ and others eager to embrace a life that could be better.

Cinéma vérité captures the world in a spectrum of reality. Some will say this is more direct cinema and I don’t want to get into this argument. What I want to say is that the range is where the film comes into its own. We have pathos, anger, fear, isolation and desire mixed into a world of people who are just finding their feet. Shot hand held and with clean direct sound, this all adds layers of truth. The discipline sessions are sometimes extraordinary and expose many of the personal fears of the children and even their parents or siblings.

We see the children emotionally fragile and hear of the sheer and constant work of their parents, who often simply wanting a better life for their kids and themselves. For me this is where the film slips. In a time of idiotic anti-immigrant groups that use the lie of work shy asylum seekers as fodder for votes. The camera doesn’t pry enough into the most private areas. It stays at a distance and wants to tell its story as an examination of life not of person. It doesn’t explore the lives outside the class room space. Yes this non exploration gives equality to the events and class but it hurts the audience’s compassion. We come out feeling that some of the families are simply economic migrants. They live for an easy life and a few are in the picture for these reasons but this is not questioned. Questioned as to why it is simply not so. This should have been the main priority of the piece. Finding out the real suffering of the many who give up everything to survive and live in a world many miles from home.