I liked Souleymane?


Why is everyone so against flawed characters these days?

First of all, one thing many seem to overlook is M. Marin's sarcasm. From dissing Austria to his comment on the teachers' discussion panel against Souleymane, that seemed to fly over some heads. I'll get to the latter in a moment.

I think many viewers have taken for granted how he aimed to connect with the students more than the average teacher. This was evident to me most with Souleymane. He seemed to be one of the few, or perhaps the only one, who understood how shut down this boy was. It seemed to be implied that he had a slightly troubled upbringing, and thus, conventional teaching methods wouldn't work on him. He required teachers making an extra effort to connect with him and draw him out of his shell.

I loved the self-portrait segments, in which this was most evident. François was encouraging him to express himself, and when Souleymane brought in those photographs, and François gave him commendations, his face lit up with joy. A teacher was giving him recognition, and it appeared to be optimistic.

In the staff meeting that Esmeralda and Louise sat in, you'll notice that while all of the other teachers were dismissive, François made an attempt to defend him. He complimented his improvement and rejected the suggestions to give him harsh discipline. Then when provoked by his co-workers, he made a facetious retort about how he should just throw in the towel.

Obviously, this is where it went downhill. The girls misconstrued what he said (much like many of you here on this forum, apparently); Souleymane felt hurt and probably betrayed to some degree; François lost his temper, called the girls "skanks" just to sting them; and then, of course, Souleymane inadvertently injured Khoumba.

François then struggled with trying to figure out a way to smooth things over, but this isn't how it happens, unfortunately. As some others have mentioned, this conveyed the flaws within the academic justice system...the imperfections with warnings, points, and so forth. It stipulated the difficulties with coming to terms w/ such life-changing decisions, especially when in many cases like that of Souleymane's, you can't yield the inevitable. And you may never know what your disciplinary actions will lead to.

The point I'm trying to make here, above all else, is that Souleymane, François--they're all flawed. They're real. And that's what makes them fascinating. I'm sorry if you hoped for some twee, cheesy movie, where everything is resolved succinctly. This movie is incredible because it gives us an inside look, from an actual city teacher's perspective, and how idealism versus reality clash in various ways.

FYC: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker.

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[deleted]

Souleymane is the sort of kid makes teaching worthwhile.

I have taught for almost 30 years in an inner-city school and he is exactly the sort of boy you want to see succeed, even if it is only in a small way.

Unfortunately, life outside the school impinges and too often it never happens, but it could and that's why we keep at it.

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Interesting points! I agree 100% about his insight with Souleymane, trying to reach him, draw him out. Loved his photo self-portrait.

I did not interpret Marin's comment about Souleymane's "limitations" as being ironic. I thought he was being honest. It seemed to me that the others were arguing he was a bad seed, and he was contradicting them, but then Marin himself dug down to find something to counter their view of him, and that was Marin's true view of Souleymane: that he, in trying to sympathize with him and reach him, had decided he was just a dim bulb. So he was in fact doing the same thing as they, dismissing the kid and giving up on him, but in a more PC way than they.

But I will watch again and see if I agree with your interpretation.

Anyway, I think Marin hid within the institutional racism/classism to protect himself at the end. There was such a parallel between Marin and Soulymane in that heated scene. Both were provoked. Both were unable to control their tempers. But Marin hid within his position of power, Souleymane was the scapegoat. There but for the grace of God....

And yeah, love the flawed teacher. So great in so many ways, so horribly, horribly wrong, too.

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Pretty good discussion here.
For what its worth, I thought the teacher showed his conflicting thoughts and emotions about Souleymane throughout. Resentment and anger for not trying and for the disrespect and poor behavior. But the teacher also tried to make excuses for those and seemed to have hope for trying something other than expulsion. But then the comment by another male teacher that "the school will not be expelling Souleymane. He's been gone for quite a while" rang so true, no-one could defend more hope.

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I felt bad for the kid too, but he never did his homework. I think the girls were wrong to tell him what the teacher said. Why hurt his self esteem. The teacher should not have called the silly girls skanks, but they were acting stupid at the meeting. I hope he went to another school.

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I did not interpret Marin's comment about Souleymane's "limitations" as being ironic. I thought he was being honest. It seemed to me that the others were arguing he was a bad seed, and he was contradicting them, but then Marin himself dug down to find something to counter their view of him, and that was Marin's true view of Souleymane: that he, in trying to sympathize with him and reach him, had decided he was just a dim bulb. So he was in fact doing the same thing as they, dismissing the kid and giving up on him, but in a more PC way than they.


I'm not sure this is fair. Given that Souleymane is from an immigrant household where French isn't spoken (if his mother is any indication), saying that he has "limited writing skills" does not necessarily mean that he is dumb but could be simply recognition that French is his second language. Also, I did not get the sense that François was giving up on him, given the way he fought for him to stay at the school.

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I agree with the OP completely! I liked Souleyman too and think he could have been reached but not with a conventional curriculum or the pressure of pace of learning.

I give my respect to those who have earned it; to everyone else, I'm civil.

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