To Be And To Have (2002) ( Être et avoir )

To Be And To Have (2002) (DVD) (*)

~~$20.99~~ $17.98

Original Title: Être et avoir
Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Ceasar Awards
European Film Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
French ( Subtitles )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
France ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
100 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.66:1)

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 2002 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )

Directed By:
Nicolas Philibert

Written By:
Nicolas Philibert

Actors:
Georges Lopez ..... The teacher (himself)
Alizé ..... Herself (student)
Axel ..... Himself (student)
Guillaume ..... Himself (student)
Jessie ..... Herself
Johan ..... Himself (student) (as JoJo)
Johann ..... Himself (student)
Jonathan ..... Himself
Julien ..... Himself (student)
Laura ..... Herself
Létitia ..... Herself
Marie-Elizabeth ..... Herself
Nathalie ..... Herself
Olivier ..... Himself (student)
Franck ..... Himself

Synopsis:

To Be and To Have is a sweetly bucolic documentary about a one-room schoolhouse in the French countryside. Filmmaker Nicolas Philibert (In the Land of the Deaf) examines the interactions of teacher and pupils from a reasonably detached point-of-view. Some of the children are more aware of the camera than others, and Philibert does depart briefly from his unobtrusive perspective for a brief interview with the teacher, Georges Lopez, who discusses his background and his impending retirement. The end result is a surprisingly moving study, not just of a single teacher and his charges, but also of the process of learning. The children are adorable, for the most part, but there's genuine trauma in their routine social interactions, as when two of the older boys--quiet, easily embarrassed Olivier and his more self-assured peer, Julien--are called in by Lopez to discuss their deteriorating friendship. The cute little boy who gets the most screen time, Jojo, is seen struggling with social interaction (asking the other children in the class, one by one, if they're his friends--one delivers a blunt 'No.'), with basic hygiene, and with the concept of infinity. While the issues of the film are largely universal, Philibert also captures the unique challenges faced by Lopez in simultaneously teaching kids of many different ages. This challenge is summed up nicely in a shot of Lopez in a rainstorm, with two umbrellas, trying to cover an energetic boy and a younger girl who's just toddling along.

How do we learn to live with others and their wishes? Director Nicolas Philibert poses this question in a village schoolhouse in Auvergne, where Georges Lopez teaches 13 children, ages ranging from about four to 12. Against a landscape of mountains and farmland, from driving snow to rain to sun, the children gather in Lopez's warm and colorful classroom, to read, write dictation, cook, and sort things out. At home, the older ones do homework with parents after their chores. At year's end, they look ahead to the next, visiting the middle school and meeting the little ones coming in the fall. As they learn sums and adjectives, with Lopez's help, they also learn to live side by side.

This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 21 June, 2020.