Monsieur Lazhar

Monsieur Lazhar

No matter where you go... there you are

2011 · 94 min · ★ 7.2 · Drama, Comedy

During a harsh Montréal winter, an elementary-school class is left reeling after its teacher commits suicide. Bachir Lazhar, a charismatic Algerian immigrant, steps in as the substitute teacher for the classroom of traumatized children. All the while, he must keep his personal life tucked away: the fact that he is seeking political refuge in Québec – and that he, like the children, has suffered an appalling loss.

Directed by Philippe Falardeau · Written by Philippe Falardeau

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

PhiloBrewFandor Amazon ChannelCineverse Amazon Channel

Rent or Buy

Amazon VideoApple TV StoreGoogle Play MoviesYouTubeFandango At Home

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 24m together

Monsieur Lazhar

The Good Lie

Both from Philippe Falardeau.

More from Philippe FalardeauSee all →

The Fate of AmericaThe Fate of America · 1997
The Fate of America
10.01997
MovieDocumentaryHistory
Two well-known Quebec artists (filmmaker Jacques Godbout and playwright René-Daniel Dubois) look at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Whose version of this historic event should prevail? Is history best served by documentary or fiction? We also meet Baron Georges Savarin de Marestan and Andrew Wolfe-Burroughs, direct descendants of Montcalm and Wolfe, both of whom died in the battle that would give birth to Canada and to the province of Quebec.
Lac-Mégantic: This Is Not An AccidentLac-Mégantic: This Is Not An Accident · 2023
Lac-Mégantic: This Is Not An Accident
10.02023
MovieDocumentary
The night of July 6, 2013, changed the small, picturesque town of Lac-Mégantic in Quebec’s Eastern Townships in unfathomable and horrifying ways. In a matter of minutes, 47 people were killed instantly, and more than 2,000 were displaced when an unattended train derailed nearby. What exactly transpired that night?
Lac-Mégantic - This Is Not an AccidentLac-Mégantic - This Is Not an Accident · 2023
Lac-Mégantic - This Is Not an Accident
9.02023
SeriesDocumentary
Lac-Mégantic investigates one of the worst oil train tragedies in history: a foreseeable catastrophe ignited by corporate and political negligence.
Lovely DayLovely Day · 2025
Lovely Day
7.52025
MovieComedyDrama
Alain and Virginie are getting married today, but Alain is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The impending reunion of his divorced parents has plunged him into deep anxiety, only made worse by the shady schemes of his cousin and best man Edouard, who seems determined to get him involved. The groom now has only one ambition: to survive the happiest day of his life.
The Good LieThe Good Lie · 2014
The Good Lie
7.52014
MovieDrama
A young refugee of the Sudanese Civil War who wins a lottery for relocation to the United States with three other lost boys. Encountering the modern world for the first time, they develop an unlikely friendship with a brash American woman assigned to help them, but the young man struggles to adjust to this new life and his feelings of guilt about the brother he left behind.
Le temps des framboisesLe temps des framboises · 2022
Le temps des framboises
7.22022
SeriesComedyDrama
When her husband dies unexpectedly, Élizabeth’s life is turned upside down. In addition to her two teenage sons, she now also has to take care of a farm replete with seasonal workers and her panic-prone in-laws, to whom she has never really been able to warm.
It's Not Me, I Swear!It's Not Me, I Swear! · 2008
It's Not Me, I Swear!
7.12008
MovieComedyDrama
During the summer of 1968, Leon, a 10-year-old boy, navigates the hardships of young love, his lunatic mother's whims, and his urges to vandalize the house of his neighbors.
The Left-Hand Side of the FridgeThe Left-Hand Side of the Fridge · 2000
The Left-Hand Side of the Fridge
6.82000
MovieComedy
Christophe agrees to be filmed by his roommate Stéphane, while he is searching for a meaningful engineering job. Since he voluntarily resigned his job when he was to be moved to quality control, he does not get unemployment benefits, and goes to classes on how to contest the decision.
CongoramaCongorama · 2006
Congorama
6.52006
MovieDrama
Michel is a Belgian inventor. He cares for his father, a paralysed writer, is married to a Congolese woman and is the father of an interracial child whom he reassures as to his parentage. He discovers at the age of 41 that he was adopted, actually having been born in Sainte-Cécile, Quebec. In the summer of 2000, he travels to Quebec, supposedly to sell some of his inventions. While on a near-impossible quest to find his birth family in the town where he was born, he crosses paths with Louis Legros, son of another inventor, in a meeting which will change their lives.
My Salinger YearMy Salinger Year · 2020
My Salinger Year
6.32020
MovieDrama
A college grad takes a clerical job working for the literary agent of the renowned, reclusive writer J.D. Salinger.
My Internship in CanadaMy Internship in Canada · 2015
My Internship in Canada
6.32015
MovieComedy
Guibord is an independent Member of Parliament who represents Prescott-Makadewà-Rapides-aux Outardes, a vast county in Northern Quebec. As the entire country watches, Guibord unwillingly finds himself in the awkward position of holding the decisive vote to determine whether Canada will go to war. Accompanied by his wife, his daughter and an idealistic intern from Haiti named Sovereign, Guibord travels across his district in order to consult his constituents. While groups of lobbyists get involved in a debate that spins out of control, the MP will have to face his own conscience. 'My Internship in Canada' is a biting political satire in which politicians, citizens and lobbyists go head-to-head tearing democracy to shreds. Film starring Suzanne Clément, Patrick Huard and Mardy Men
ChuckChuck · 2017
Chuck
6.22017
MovieDrama
A drama inspired by the life of heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner.
In the Name of the SonIn the Name of the Son · 2012
In the Name of the Son
6.12012
MovieDrama
When Elisabeth, a woman of faith, host of a radio show on a Catholic radio station, devoted to her family and the suffering of the world, is confronted with the pedophilia of priests and the suicide of her son, belief gives way to rage and to violence.
The Morin's MethodThe Morin's Method · 2005
The Morin's Method
2005
MovieDocumentary
On September 11, 2004, filmmaker Robert Morin shot Que Dieu bénisse l'Amérique, set on September 11, 2001. For artistic reasons, he decided to shoot the feature in a single day. Philippe Falardeau witnessed this tumultuous day, which ended tragically. At the same time, filmmaker Louis Bélanger criticizes Robert Morin's working methods.
Un certain souvenirUn certain souvenir · 2002
Un certain souvenir
2002
Movie

More Like This

The African QueenThe African Queen · 1952
The African Queen
7.31952
MovieRomanceAdventure
At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.
Days of GloryDays of Glory · 2006
Days of Glory
6.72006
MovieDramaHistory
1943. They have never stepped foot on French soil but because France was at war, Said, Abdelkader, Messaoud and Yassir enlist in the French Army, along with 130,000 other “indigenous” soldiers, to liberate the “fatherland” from the Nazi enemy. Heroes that history has forgotten...
The Whole Nine YardsThe Whole Nine Yards · 2000
The Whole Nine Yards
6.52000
MovieComedyCrime
After a mobster agrees to cooperate with an FBI investigation in order to stay out of prison, he's relocated by the authorities to a life of suburban anonymity as part of a witness protection program. It's not long before a couple of his new neighbours figure out his true identity and come knocking to see if he'd be up for one more hit—suburban style.
PolytechniquePolytechnique · 2009
Polytechnique
7.12009
MovieCrimeDrama
A dramatization of the École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, on December 9, 1989, where 14 female engineering students were murdered (and 13 were wounded) by a 25 year old psychotic misogynist armed with a semi-automatic weapon.
French KissFrench Kiss · 1995
French Kiss
6.51995
MovieComedyRomance
After her fiancee admits to infidelity while on a business trip in France, a woman attempts to get her lover back and marry him by traveling to Paris despite her crippling fear of flying. On the way she unwittingly smuggles something of value that has a charming crook chasing her across France as she chases after her future husband.
CachéCaché · 2005
Caché
7.02005
MovieMysteryDrama
As the host of a literary TV show, Georges begins receiving anonymously filmed videos of his family alongside cryptic, disturbing drawings, but as the tapes become increasingly intimate, they reveal a stalker who has known him for a very long time.
RushmoreRushmore · 1998
Rushmore
7.41998
MovieComedyDrama
When a beautiful first-grade teacher arrives at a prep school, she soon attracts the attention of an ambitious teenager named Max, who quickly falls in love with her. Max turns to the father of two of his schoolmates for advice on how to woo the teacher. However, the situation soon gets complicated when Max's new friend becomes involved with her, setting the two pals against one another in a war for her attention.
Agnes of GodAgnes of God · 1985
Agnes of God
6.31985
MovieDramaMystery
When a dead newborn is found, wrapped in bloody sheets, in the bedroom wastebasket of a young novice, psychiatrist Martha Livingston is called in to determine if the seemingly innocent novice, who knows nothing of sex or birth, is competent enough to stand trial for the murder of the baby.
Love HappensLove Happens · 2009
Love Happens
5.82009
MovieDramaRomance
Dr. Burke Ryan is a successful self-help author and motivational speaker with a secret. While he helps thousands of people cope with tragedy and personal loss, he secretly is unable to overcome the death of his late wife. It's not until Burke meets a fiercely independent florist named Eloise that he is forced to face his past and overcome his demons.
The Goodbye GirlThe Goodbye Girl · 1977
The Goodbye Girl
7.01977
MovieComedyDrama
After being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.
Snow DaySnow Day · 2000
Snow Day
5.12000
MovieComedyFamily
When an entire town in upstate New York is closed down by an unexpected snowfall, a "snow day" begins when a group of elementary school kids, led by Natalie Brandston, try to ensure that the schools stay closed by stopping a mechanical snowplow driver by trying to hijack his plow truck. Meanwhile, Natalie's big brother Hal is using this day to try to win the affections of Claire Bonner, the most popular girl in his high school, while Hal and Natalie's father Tom, a TV meteorologist, faces off against a rival meteorologist for weather coverage of the day's events.
Jesus of MontrealJesus of Montreal · 1989
Jesus of Montreal
6.81989
MovieDramaComedy
A group of actors putting on an interpretive Passion Play in Montreal begin to experience a meshing of their characters and their private lives as the production takes form against the growing opposition of the Catholic church.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter