Skirt Day

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.

I suspect every teacher has wondered if she/he be able to get the kids attention by pointing a gun at them. Having spent some time teaching I can really emphasize with Sonia Bergerac in this film. I loved the part where she starts to actually teach the lesson on Moliere and uses the gun to force an unruly student to cooperate. Of course real education can't function like that, but its probably a fantasy of many teachers.

The film contains quite a bit of irony, and random chaos. I don't wish to give away too much of the story, other than to say taking the students hostage was accidental, and once she had started she was completely unable to figure out how to get out of the situation. The film has a very claustrophobic feel to it. They are trapped in a small little drama while outside larger dramas unfold including political issues, debates about how the crisis should be handed by the police, dispute between cultures, and sexual exploitation of some students. But Sonia and her class are locked within a small sound proof room.

Isabelle Adjani once again demonstrates that she is a extraordinary actress who is entirely convincing in her role. Vulnerable at times, and scary in the next moment.

The film has comic moments such as her demand for a national skirt day, but is largely dramatic and tragic in its tone. The film explores the clash of cultures, prejudice, and the real meaning of sexual liberation.

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!

excerpt, more at my location - Jean-Paul Lilienfeld has certainly ensured his new film Skirt Day will be talked about. Not only is it set in the hotbed of social issues that is Paris' outer regions, it also sees the return after a five year big-screen hiatus of Isabelle Adjani, one of the most celebrated actresses in the history of French cinema. Lilienfeld's film takes place in a lower class high school, and deals with some of the biggest issues of the day such as race, class and the French education system.

Full of emotion, hostility and dark humour, Skirt Day provides heart- pounding drama and astute social commentary in equal doses. All of this is capped off with a scintillating performance from Isabelle Adjani, who really does teach a lesson to any aspiring actresses.

It's well made from a technical standpoint, and in regards to all those facets contributed from behind the scenes that are often taken for granted. Be that as it may, there are two aspects of importance to this film. The first is the acting. Everyone in the cast gives a strong, highly admirable performance of earnest range, nuance, physicality, personality, and emotional depth, and the acting is unquestionably the highlight of the feature. Denis Podalydès, Sonia Amori, Yann Ebonge, Sarah Douali, and Khalid Berkouz all stand out among others - though by far, certainly Isabelle Adjani is the real star, and proves her skill once again. It's no wonder she won yet another César award for her portrayal of beleaguered teacher Sonia Bergerac; if her turn here is any lesser in comparison to her acting elsewhere, it's only because 'Possession,' for example, was a truly once in a lifetime tour de force. Though I've yet to personally see everything Adjani has been in, I can't wait to explore more of her oeuvre, and if I have the chance I'd love to see more from her co-stars, too. More than anything else, the value of 'La journée de la jupe' is in the strength of the ensemble, and it's worth watching just for them.

However, I did say there are two aspects of importance here. The second is the script. The premise is simple: a teacher, pushed to the absolute limit by a classroom she can't control, finds herself in possession of a handgun and events rapidly spiral out. I deeply appreciate what writer and director Jean-Paul Lilienfeld tried to weave into his screenplay; the feature plays with crucial big ideas worth dissecting. The problem is that there are too many big ideas for this one picture, and the narrative gets bogged down as a result. Herein are we treated to notions of racism, misogyny, violence against women, toxic masculinity, posturing, sexual assault, victim-blaming, religious persecution, hypocrisy, feminism, misinterpretation of stated ideals or proposals (deliberate or otherwise), gun violence and gun control, bureaucracy, public education, accountability, law enforcement and crisis management, immigration, latent tensions within communities, scapegoating - and much, much more. All these are topics worthy of examination and discussion. All these are topics ripe for utilization in storytelling. That this movie wants to say something about all of them is overwhelming, both for the viewer and for the movie; like a school student whose class presentation struggles with all the thoughts they want to mention surrounding a single subject (we've all been there), the result is that none of these topics are given the treatment they deserve, and 'La journée de la jupe' feels unfocused and a little floundering as a result.

As one last unfortunate impression to be left on us, the final scene is simply heavy-handed to the point of being a tad gawky rather than meaningful.

It's not a bad film. It's a good film, in fact. Lilienfeld's direction is solid, the effects and stunts are well done, and the production design is great. I like the music, even if it feels a smidgen ill-fitting in the last stretch. Everything looks and sounds good, and once more, the chief reason to watch is by far the tremendous acting. It's just regrettable that Lilienfeld's reach exceeded his grasp when it came to the writing. I can only commend the ambition and intent, and for what it's worth the characterizations are a treasure trove, but I think the screenplay and the realization thereof would have benefited if some of the many concepts broached herein were dropped so as to tighten and center the story. True, perhaps that unwieldy assemblage is appropriate in some off-kilter way, just as Sonia finds herself in an unmanageable situation with too many points that could be raised. That the character's dilemma sort of becomes the feature's, well, there's the rub. I think 'La journée de la jupe' is worth watching if one comes across it, overwhelmingly for the cast alone, and specifically but not exclusively Adjani. If you're looking for a precise, thoughtful drama of social issues, however - or even just a good, well-rounded movie generally - I'm just not sure that this is going to be the title to satisfy.