Bit to Do

And so it continues: the last Oscars season is now over and forgotten as our cinemas become overrun by the first onslaught of summer blockbusters, and yet previously unseen Academy Award nominees continue to quietly trickle in. We are concerned today with the nominees for Best Foreign Language film, three of which avid film-goers have so far had the opportunity to view: the recipient of the award, the Iranian film “A Separation,” had a healthy run at Baxter Avenue Theater before playing again at the Floyd Theater, and nominees “Bullhead” (from Belgium) and “Footnote” (from Israel) each played at Village 8 Theater as part of the Louisville Exclusive series.

Today begins a one-week run of yet another Best Foreign Film nominee: the French-Canadian film “Monsieur Lazhar.”

The setting is Montreal. After an elementary school teacher commits suicide, the Algerian immigrant Bashir Lazhar is hired as her replacement. Drama ensues as Monsieur Lazhar attempts to teach the children reeling from their teacher's death while he battles his own demons and deals with the tragedies in his past.

“Monsieur Lazhar” is based on the one-character play “Bashir Lazhar” by

Évelyne de la Chenelière, who also has a small role in the film. The film is directed by Philippe Falardeau, who has won multiple awards for his previous films “La Moitiè Gauche du Frigo” (“The Left Side of the Fridge”) and “Congorama.” Mohamed Saïd Fellag stars as the title character.

“

Monsieur Lazhar” plays at Village 8 Theater until next Thursday, June 7. Village 8 is located at 4014 Dutchmans Lane. Theater information and showtimes can be found at the Village 8 website.

Image: Internet Movie Database