To Be and to Have (2003)

But I expect we won't see part two - because of the quiet discontent that spiraled out of control once the movie hit box office paradise. The producers evidently turned capitalistic in their approach and by calling this movie a "documentary" where given the license to keep over one million euros while the actual star "Mr. Georges Lopez" makes nothing. He sued after the movie made it to the top of the charts - but the French Government failed to give him his due reward. Shame on them! I agree with Mr. Lopez, and the families of the children who are suing for a piece of the profit. Where else on earth could this money be more well spent? But to conclude, Mr. Lopez, you may not receive materially thanks for your life work as a teacher, but you surely receive the thanks of all residents of this world for your gentle, loving and intellectual approach to enriching the lives of the children of rural France. Cudos Mr. Lopez. You are a hero in the truest sense of the word. And one other thing I'd like you to know...there could not be a more beautiful place on earth then where your one room school house was located - I envy you your job and your location...a life well led is almost impossible in a global capitalistic economy like the one we are all confined to live in. One last thing....write a book if you'd like to make some money. Since I'm sure that Part II won't be coming out in the film office, I'd be just as happy to read about it. Then come and live out your final days here in the U.S.. You would certainly receive better legal treatment here then in France!

I found this film simply irritating. I can't think why it should be "required viewing" like some reviewers claim. Maybe for those who are into teaching, who absolutely LOVE kids and for those who do rural sociology (I must be forgetting some other trade). But for most of us, it only shows how difficult it must be to teach VERY young kids. And how vital that role is. As Kim Anehall puts so well in Amazon: "To Be and to Have offers some true insights on the job as teachers should be regarded as everyday heroes in the last line of defense in a developing society".I think that the director Philibert never "scrapes below the surface" of the teaching process itself, leaving us instead with plain empiria. And the "lessons" seems staked, like if Mr. Lopez would like to prove how good he is at teaching, and as a person. But, as a reviewer notes, the camera shows very clearly when the kids have learnt their lesson, and when they don't (which is most of the times).The stark contrast of the "conditons of life" in France compared to any underdeveloped country is painful. The teacher drives a big Audi (!), the schools themselves are nice and lofty, and they all have all the necessary equipment. The kind of things people take for granted on the developed world. I'd love to have this system back in my country, Argentina. Specifically, in the "conurbano bonaerense", where teachers aren't paid for months, pupils go to school basically to have a meal their parents can't afford back home, and violence is the rule of the game.I laughed with one American reviewer when he said that probably JoJo would be medicated in the US... If you want to know about different methods of education you could always watch for instance Kiarostami's "Where Is the Friend's Home?" to learn how the other half of the world lives.The cinematography is very nice.I agree with another Amazon reviewer Matt Curtin (Columbus, OH USA) on the Lopez'saga of suits: "That he would later claim that he was due some additional compensation that was never part of the deal reminds me of his interaction with young JoJo (...) even our greatest teachers are still ultimately human, complete with their own weaknesses. Perhaps the final lesson is that even disappointment is a part of life".Same goes for the great Manohla Dargis on the LA Times: "Apparently, the French are not so very different, after all".

This movie was a surprise find in the rarely used foreign film section of my usual DVD rental shop.The picture of innocence on the pupils face upon the DVD cover and the prospect of progressing my French vocab allured me to it.Since viewing it, really i should use the word; reliving,i have formed unexpected genial and sentimental memories of my own school days. This movie is essential viewing for any / all of us who have attended national or primary education. The realization that i alone could relate to each and every pupil, (and to the teacher), a similar person from my life and experience was overwhelming. i hold dear the joy of innocence and the reality of individuality portrayed in real life by all those who participated in this... exposition of the joy of obtaining and giving knowledge. the struggles were once my own, the humor warms me still, the knowledge is empirically embedded after the same such endeavor. i applaud this film and its' writer, director and producer. i know all its subject but by different names. i will re-watch it time and time again so that i may remain attached to the honesty of progress in life for us all via the altruism of dedicated teachers of knowledge and empathy.i hope my spelling errors do not influence your choice to experience this film.

I can't say much about the film except that I love it. I don't want to come across like a 12 year old fan club president, but oh well. The main problem I have with many contemporary documentaries these days is that they tend to go for maximum entertainment, and little else. Overly slick, often gimmicky in nature, with flash editing and a cynical tone, they are instantly forgotten (i.e. Super Size Me, Inside Deep Throat, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, among many many others) To be and To have, beyond entertaining is an INSIGHTFUL look into us as human beings, I know I know, a movie about the human condition, sounds corny or worse dull but it is far from either of those adjectives. The film follows a class of kinder gardeners in the French rural countryside for a year. It is both profound and simple to watch these children learn the everyday lessons of life. Even more amazing is that it does so without becoming overly sentimental or sugary. The film's point of view inevitably takes on that of a five year old, finding magic and greatness in the everyday mundane aspects of life. Highlights: When the teacher explains the concept of infinity to the children. Marie and Jojo in general are a delight. The handwriting lesson as insight into personality. I could go on and on. Just see it