School Life

You could say that this movie lacks a real story, and it certainly offers no conclusive ending, but surely that's the filmmaker's eloquently communicated point. Even the most dedicated teachers and educational systems can't fix poverty and discrimination because their effects on children's lives begin long before kids get to school. School Life suggests the cycle of poverty, often fed by social biases against religions and skin color, creates generations of uneducated and/or impoverished parents who then raise kids in the same if not worse circumstances. Surrounded by crime, drug use, street violence, and other impediments to success, teens understand the odds are against them and often give up. Yanis, well played by Pierron, knows he's bright but he also knows that his chances of rising up from poverty, given all his baggage, are slim.

Note that many French acronyms (seemingly referring to low-performing students) are thrown about and never explained. An idealistic math teacher suggests to questioning students that learning math can help teach kids that "everything in life can be solved." The movie sadly demonstrates that either this isn't the case, or that no one's yet found the solutions to the many problems presented here.