Adapted from the celebrated work by playwright Evelyne de la Chenelière, the film stars the incomparable Algerian actor, Fellag, whose nuanced yet restrained performance brings a unique dimension to Lazhar's character. A student throws a paper ball at a classmate, and Lazhar, standing right there, taps him sharply on the head. Thank you. Looking in through the door, he realizes that his teacher has hung herself from a ceiling pipe.
Finally, in what feels like a desperate move, she hires Bachir Lazhar (the wonderful Fellag), an Algerian immigrant who literally walks in off the street with his resumé.With his formal manner, different-sounding French and very tentative grasp of the curriculum, Bachir is, at first, a curiosity to both the kids and the school's mostly female staff. Monsieur Lazhar, film québécois de Philippe FALARDEAU est une œuvre sensible, intelligente et particulièrement touchante dont l'histoire tourne autour du fossé culturel que doit traverser tout immigrant en arrivant dans sa terre d'accueil. Vaillancourt, the school's principal, has a difficult time finding a replacement teacher because of the gruesome nature of the death, which is why she hires Algerian immigrant, Bachir Lazhar, despite her reservations in doing so.