By Damon Griffin, News correspondent

One doesn’t usually associate voyeurism in movies with relief. Filmmakers regularly associated with voyeurism ‘- Alfred Hitchcock, for example ‘- created creepy, ambiguous worlds. But in ‘The Class,’ an otherwise visually claustrophobic film, shots of the basketball court from afar or shots that look down on a walkway connecting school buildings as a teacher and troubled pupil pass through, offer breaths of fresh air.

For most of its two-hour duration, this ultimately charming quasi-documentary tries to give us as close up, and sometimes uncomfortable, a portrayal of teacher-student relations as has ever been put on film.
Even the literal translation of the film’s French title, ‘Entre les Murs,’ ‘- or, ‘Between the Walls’ ‘- suggests a view of the most detailed inner-workings of a high school.
Francois (Francois Begaudeau) is a French teacher at an inner-city school. His method of instruction is firm yet witty; sarcastic, but never intentionally mean-spirited. Still, his students sense hints of condescension in his lectures and egg him on. One suggests he is gay, for instance. Another writes a letter saying she will not be speaking to him in class for the entire year.

At first, the audience marvels at how Francois is able to deal so well with these nuisances. But when he has to handle a genuinely troubled African immigrant in class, he is pushed too far, bringing his classroom ethics and reputation into question.

The film was directed by Laurent Cantet and written by Begaudeau, whose role is a semi-fictionalized version of himself. The film is based on his own book of personal teaching experience in a Parisian school.

The way the filmmakers handle the chatty, probably half-improvised classroom scenes, is commendable; they are always engaging and funny. The fact that the film was shot documentary style on digital cameras makes it all the more engaging, though this can also cause occasional confusion given the film’s large ensemble cast.

Doubtless though, small, practical faults like these will be overlooked by most viewers, who may find the film a good overall balance in contemporary cinema:’ amusing, but not an outright comedy; sentimental, but not too sentimental; enriched by socio-political themes, but not forced.

The one truly bothersome aspect of the story ‘- and intentionally so ‘- comes when Francois makes the comment that ultimately crosses the line and starts to turn the tables against him. Although viewers sympathize with Francois, they begin to see that his firmness and wittiness is also a means for self-defense, and’ begin to wonder whether he cares about the students or simply keeping his job. Should Francois be punished more than he is? Should he feel guiltier? This is where ambiguity enters the film, and though it feels jarring in an otherwise direct story, perhaps it is good the film asks us to decide for ourselves what should have happened.