i am french from pied noir origin. i am definitely touch by this movie. While some peoples might think, the film deals with too many different issues at once.first .Isabelle Adjanie, as usual, play with her tripe's, she play for her life, in this role of a french teacher, who lost the plot. we might think, as some reviews have express, there are concentrating on too many issues, but being from a french mother and Algerian father pied noir, i growth up in the city , as we call it in France, i growth up in the city, and when to a very similar school then the movie, the reason, this really strike a chord. the fact is, yes i did get racketed it, beating up, yes, peoples might choose to ignore or brush the issues the movies address, but i, who has been in the same city school, can assure the public, this movie strike a cord, simply due to the fact i have live every issues, ( except for the rape) address in the movie. this is a very honest and blunt account of what is going on in the poorest city state school! and yes i was in this type of school back in early 80's and the same problem were already present, one would have think, things would have improve, but sadly, today, my brother and my cousin being teacher, i can assure you, they will confirm, the situation did not get better but WORSE! Isabelle Adjanie doesn't act often, it was 6 years since she had made a movie, but Christ, when she take a role, she does not act, she live her part, like there is no tomorrow! With Camille Claudel, this movie top up the very long and incredible journey of an actress, who is probably the best actress we have in France.

This is a very touching story, very well done on all levels. A high school theater teacher, suffers from the impolite attitude of her students, and their continuous disrespect. She finds herself with a gun she found with one of her students, and ends up with half of her class as hostages. Here starts the complexed relation between people there. A very important thing that you should know, is the estate of Arab people living in France, their social phobia, and their lack of integration, that led to very big issues lately. That's what this movie talks about. With a great scenario, full of surprises and unexpected events, Lilienfeld makes an emotional social thriller, discussing rights of women, immigrants, Muslims, teachers, respect, pedagogy... Adjani is great in this part, i see she deserves her Cesar, as for the entire cast, especially the teenagers, very convincing. Some "committed thriller movie" is not something we see everyday, so do not miss this good one!

A high school teacher loses it and ends up holding hostages half her class, turning the situation into a reflexive introspection on the various crisis of modern youths.Isabelle Adjani, very pretty in her white skirt and blazer, and rolled-up sleeve holding "caids" at gunpoint, is unpredictable and convincing - the rest of the cast, amateur or not, is very weak.The subject (education and equality) is strong, very relevant and more to-the-point than the very flat and bland take of the last Palmes d'Or "Entre les Murs".La Journée de la Jupe takes it to another level, more brutal, more real and less entertaining. Less humor and more critical analysis.The two weakness of the movie are the very feeble and bad acting on almost all the characters. And the overuse of Issues. During the hour and half, the movie feels obliged to tackle every single issues possible: from gang rape to condoms, from Islam to immigration, from respect to racism ... Too much. I was almost waiting to hear about Finance or the Ozone layer ....Interesting subject but awkward construction.

Adjani, as high school teacher, attempts to hold a class on a Moliere's play in the school's small theater. As usual, she receives continuous intimidation, pressures and insults from chauvinist pupils. Then a scrum between irresponsible pupils lead to a gun accidentally falling down at the foot of Sonia. Taking it, she wounds by accident one in the leg, and then initiating an hostage taking. Outside the school, police and political try to react to the situation. Inside the building, using the gun Sonia requires from his students her own vision and finally try to place them in front of their own contradictions : in a real secular society one religion should not be replaced by another one under the pretext of cultural exchanges and social improvements . This film points a finger at the whole confusion in today Western schooled society. This film presents a current and realistic situation!