It all starts today

Directed by Bertrand Tavernier ('Round Midnight). A teacher struggles to make a difference in the lives of his students. Very typically French, in some respects: the characters talk ceaselessly, there is a lot of cheek kissing. In telling the story of a pre-school director, the film shows a slice of French life which is not shown by all the cooking shows that extoll Gallic life. Many of the students in the school are from poor families; one, a cute girl whom the etacher engages and tries to help, suddenly dies at her mother's hand, overdosed on thorazine when the nopther despairs of their economic challenges.

One reviewer has it this way: Director/co-writer Bertrand Tavernier, known for the realism in his films, takes the same matter-of-fact approach here, immersing the viewer in the very bleak everyday living conditions of the children and their families. While this sets a decidedly somber tone, it doesn't bludgeon; as tragedies take place, providing a tonic is the quiet heroism of Daniel and his efforts to challenge the system. True to the overall realism, Daniel is no perfect paragon of virtue; he has his share of character flaws (foremost, ego), and all facets of his personality are vividly conveyed by Torreton. But his--and the film's--the unwavering sense of cautious hope keeps the experience from being a draining downer and makes it a profound study of an all-too-common human condition.