Le Nouveau Raz-de-Marée - A New Movement in French Cinema?

Shannon O’Riordan

---- LA VIE SCOLAIRE ---- 

GENRE: Drama; Comedy; ‘Teen’ (don’t let that put you off!)

FAVOURITE QUOTE: « Et si je ne valais pas mieux que ça? »

FAVOURITE SCENE: There is a parallel party scene about halfway through the film which reminds you that this is a work of fictional art, not a documentary - the editing is ingenious and seamless

FILMS IT MIGHT REMIND YOU OF: Okay, hear me out… think La Haine meets the Bad Education film

RATING: * * * * * * (5/6)

Credit: La Vie Scolaire. Directed by Mehdi Idir, performances by Zita Hanrot, Liam Pierron et Soufiane Guerrab, 2019. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81191429

Column I

Until recently, whenever anybody asked me to recommend a French film, I would immediately go to my ready-made list which I thought epitomised everything that people look for when they enter the French cinematic realm: Cléo de 5 à 7, Les Quatre Cents Coups, À Bout de Souffle, Le Mépris - you know the type. In short, for me, “La Nouvelle Vague” was synonymous with “French cinema”, and anything made outside of this era was not ‘French’ enough and simply not worth recommending to those looking for ‘real’ French cinema. 

Yet over the past year, I have discovered just how misguided I was. Don’t get me wrong, films from La Nouvelle Vague remain influential, and modern cinema around the globe owes its existence to the movement, but I am here to reiterate that there is so much more to French cinema than only these films. Particularly owing to the rise in popularity of streaming services, French film production companies have increasingly turned towards a very different style of film, sowing the seeds of a new cinematic movement which I have fondly nicknamed ‘Le Nouveau Raz-de-Marée’.

What exactly do I mean by this slightly condescending term? Let me clarify, for it all lies in one big change: these films are made to be released on streaming platforms and hence are produced to succeed not on the silver screen, but rather in homes. This shift is perhaps the biggest cause of the change in cinematic style, and also a key reason for the rise in the number of French films released in the past few years. As such, there has been a ‘tidal wave’ of new French films being released on Netflix and Amazon Prime and, whilst it might not necessarily be as concrete a movement as La Nouvelle Vague, Le Nouveau Raz-de-Marée is certainly an important turning point in French cinematic culture which should not be overlooked.

Saint-Denis from above

Credit: La Vie Scolaire. Directed by Mehdi Idir, performances by Zita Hanrot, Liam Pierron et Soufiane Guerrab, 2019. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81191429

Over the next few weeks, I will be exploring some of the best modern French films released on Netflix (also available on other streaming services) in an attempt to show you that, whilst this new ‘tidal wave’ of French films might be slightly less ‘artsy’, and maybe even more ‘Hollywood-y’, it is certainly no less valuable or enjoyable. 

For my first recommendation from the Nouveau Raz-de-Marée, I have chosen La Vie Scolaire, a 2019 Netflix Original. Now, I know the words ‘Netflix Original’ do not always bring joy (trust me, The Kissing Booth 2 took two hours and twelve minutes from my life that I will never get back), but I promise that this film is worth every second. Set in a collège in Saint-Denis, an infamous banlieue just outside of Paris, La Vie Scolaire simultaneously follows the story of new CPE officer, Samia Zibra (played by the wonderful Zita Hanrot) and 15-year-old troublemaker, Yanis (played by the equally wonderful Liam Pierron) as they work to balance their struggles both in and out of school. 

Yanis and Samia

Credit: La Vie Scolaire. Directed by Mehdi Idir, performances by Zita Hanrot, Liam Pierron et Soufiane Guerrab, 2019. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81191429

Although Samia and Yanis are the main characters, and their close teacher-student relationship is arguably the central element of the film, we also get to know a core group of teachers and students along the way. Throughout the film, we see that both teachers and students in ZEPs (Zones d'Éducation Prioritaire) face difficulties, and the film does a great job of balancing both sides; it would be far too easy to present the teachers in these tough areas as loving saviours, and the student body as the devil incarnate, but La Vie Scolaire remains nuanced throughout and refuses to take the easy route.  

La Vie Scolaire was directed by Fabien Marsaud and Mehdi Idir, two men who themselves grew up in Saint-Denis and, as such, the film follows in the footsteps of films such as La Haine (1995, Matheiu Kassovitz) and Les Misérables (2019, Ladj Ly), acting as an almost documentary-level exploration of life in the banlieues, from the point of view of the banlieusards themselves.

Core Group of Kids in Class

Credit: La Vie Scolaire. Directed by Mehdi Idir, performances by Zita Hanrot, Liam Pierron et Soufiane Guerrab, 2019. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81191429

Perhaps most strikingly, the cast of children primarily consists of non-actors, which, as in La Haine, provides a very significant level of realism and linguistic verisimilitude (I have never heard the word ‘wesh’ so much in my life, and don’t even get me started on the amount of random verlan the kids use) and this, combined with the directors’ knowledge, ensures that everything in the film comes across as very authentic; neither glamourised, nor glorified. 

It is this authenticity which makes the film so enjoyable and gives it its character. There are many moments throughout the film that will make you laugh out loud, temporarily relieving the pressure that you feel simply by watching the world that these characters have to live in, and it seems completely effortless; neither cringy, nor forced. Alongside the comedy, there are moments of joy, grief, despair, friendship, community and even romance (though this romance really is only implied and does not distract at all from the central message of the film, fear not!) which come together to create a really well-rounded film. 

Credit: La Vie Scolaire. Directed by Mehdi Idir, performances by Zita Hanrot, Liam Pierron et Soufiane Guerrab, 2019. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81191429

Overall then, it will not surprise you that I cannot recommend this film enough.  Admittedly, there are a few moments throughout the film when you think, ‘Okay, this could move along a bit faster’, but La Vie Scolaire doesn’t pretend to be something it's not and, on this basis, I don’t think this is a good enough reason to reproach an otherwise brilliant film. Whilst the topic is not necessarily new, I would argue that La Vie Scolaire approaches it from a different angle, using sympathetic, authentic characters from two different age groups to tackle several important social issues which remain controversial in modern French culture.