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TO BE AND TO HAVE Send This Review to a Friend
In the midst of the debacle to be found in America's overcrowded, under funded urban schools comes a thought-provoking French import that reminds us of what education can be like in other circumstances. Nicolas Philibert takes us into an intimate single class school in the Auvergne, where a dedicated teacher with a big heart and infinite patience guides a class of a dozen students from age three to eleven through assorted subjects. The film is understated and easygoing as we watch the learning process and the children's response to their class work and to their mentor.
The teacher, George Lopez, explains how he always aspired to the profession and we see how well suited he is. The care and expertise with which he stimulates learning are hallmarks of his determination to see that his charges advance their knowledge. What's more, he exhibits caring for the welfare of the children, exemplified by a particularly touching heart to heart talk with a tearful boy worried about the health of his father who is ill with cancer and must have his larynx removed.
Philibert sets the tone for the film nicely with shots of the countryside that provide a context for his little schoolhouse to which the children are brought by bus. A visit to a larger school where some are destined becomes an adventure. Rural, one class education is becoming a relic, but the process we watch underscores the spirit of what teaching should be all about in schools whatever their size. The country doesn't matter. It's the idea.
The youngsters we get to know are fascinating to watch. "To Be and To Have" moves slowly but so much can be absorbed by relaxing and watching. A New Yorker Films release.
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