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To Be and to Have

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Original title: Être et avoir
Year: 2002
Running time: 104 min.
Country: France
Director: Nicolas Philibert
Screenwriter: Nicolas Philibert
Cast: Documentary
Music: Philippe Hersant
Cinematography: Nicolas Philibert, Laurent Didier, Katell Djian, Hugues Gemignani
Producer: Maïa Films, arte France Cinéma, Les Films d'Ici, Centre National de Documentation Pédagogique, Canal+, CNC, Gimages 4, Ministère de l'Education National du Conseil Régional d'Auvergne
Genre: Documentary | Education. Schools & University. Childhood. Small Town Life (Non-North American)
Synopsis: How do we learn to live with others and their wishes? Director Nicolas Philibert poses this question in a village schoolhouse in Auvergne, where Georges Lopez teaches 13 children, ages ranging from about four to 12. Against a landscape of mountains and farmland, from driving snow to rain to sun, the children gather in Lopez's warm and colorful classroom, to read, write dictation, cook, and sort things out. At home, the older ones do homework with parents after their chores. At year's end, they look ahead to the next, visiting the middle school and meeting the little ones coming in the fall. As they learn sums and adjectives, with Lopez's help, they also learn to live side by side.

Rankings Position

#130 Best Documentaries of the 21st century

Awards: 2002: César Awards: Best Editing. 3 Nominations: Best Film, Director and Editing

2003: Nominated for BAFTA Awards: Best Film not in the English Language

2002: European Film Awards (EFA): Best Documentary.

2003: National Society of Film Critics (NSFC): Best Documentary.

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Critics' reviews

"A counterintuitive film about a small schoolhouse in rural France, 'To Be and to Have' gets its punch from simple scenes and conversations."

Jonathan Curiel: SFGATE
"It demonstrates without overreaching what an actual teacher can do to shape lives."

Peter Rainer: New York Magazine
"'To Be and to Have' is a movie every teacher should see, and every parent, too."

Steven Rea: Philadelphia Inquirer
"Amounts to a rare gift and an opportunity to appreciate the end of an era."

Desson Thomson: The Washington Post
"A deceptively simple French film about teaching that keeps enlarging as you watch it, becoming beautiful and inspiring in a way most films never touch."

Michael Wilmington: Chicago Tribune
"An unhurried model of nonfiction filmmaking and a vision of life at its most persuasively humanistic."

Manohla Dargis: Los Angeles Times
"Exhibiting the same sort of patience as his sensible hero, Philibert has created an extraordinarily humane portrait of a partnership between one adult and his very fortunate charges."

Elizabeth Weitzman: New York Daily News
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Ranking Lists Position

66 My Top 10 Movies from 2002 (35)
70 My Favorite Documentaries (95)

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To Be and to Have

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