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I just saw this movie yesterday, and I felt that it was so well made, so touching, so inspiring, and so important. It is a rare kind of movie that teaches you history, shows you other people's struggles, and moves you emotionally because it captures the strength of the human spirit.

This movie is important because it shows that it is possible to overcome adversity and makes you believe that it is never too late to attain those things that are valuable to you. It also really brings into focus the power and importance of education.

I'm really glad that I saw this movie, and I hope that many other people will go see it as well.

The first grader is a true story about an 84 year old Kimani Maruge (Oliver Litondo) who decides to go back to school after learning that the Kenyan government has introduced free education. He was a MauMau soldier a fact that prevented him from getting an education he so desired due to the war. He goes back to school so he can learn how to read the bible and a letter he received. This decision takes him on a journey full of struggles, which he has to overcome. The head teacher Jane Obinchu (Naomi Harris) undergoes the struggles with Maruge, which rocks her marriage and also gets her transferred to another school. The movie's theme is the struggle a person undergoes when attempting to accomplish his or her goals. The movie's plot combined with good acting from Oliver Litondo and Naomi Harris shows his journey and struggles. Maruge and Obinchu fight the parents, villagers, education board, and teachers that are against his going back to school as they see do not see the reason why an old man about to die needs education. To them this is a waste of the schools scarce resources. Conviction, a movie about Carl Upchurch, a felon who turns his life around while in prison by getting an education and discovering his identity has a similar theme to that of the First Grader. In his mission to help out people who are in the same situation he was in he faces a lot of opposition and mockery from people due to his past, but never gives up hope. The first grader uses low-key lighting to create a somber mood and especially when Maruge has flashbacks of his days in the forest as a MauMau soldier and the torture he endured. The movie also uses high-key lighting with the difference between light and dark areas being wide thus creating powerful dramatic images. The movie also employs motifs, which is in form of Marugue's struggle and journey. The flashbacks about Maruge's days as a MauMau veteran and the suffering he and others endured in order to help Kenya achieve its independence is the motif that reflects the movies theme. In the movie, Maruge is suffering and is also being ridiculed by other due to his decision to get an education. The first grader is an inspirational story that takes the viewer through the struggle of a man to achieve his goal of learning how to read so he can understand the bible and a letter he received.

The First Grader (2010), directed by Justin Chadwick, is a serious and important film that is being advertised as a feel-good movie, suitable for kids. It's an excellent movie, but not for kids. The film is a portrayal of the true story of Kimani N'gan'ga Maruge, an 84-year-old Kenyan man who successfully enrolled in a first grade.

Maruge is a former Mau-Mau revolutionary and prisoner of war. He was horribly tortured by the British army, but his spirit was never broken. When the Kenyan government announces "free education for all," he accepts this literally and tries to enroll in the first grade.

This neglect of former revolutionaries has occurred in many countries, and, at least in the film, Kenya is no exception. As portrayed in the movie, the Kenyan government officials aren't that different from the British colonial officials, except for skin color. They're certainly not enthusiastic about large numbers of adults following Maruge's example and enrolling in school.

The film is overly simplistic at times. The behavior of the dedicated teacher who accepts Maruge in her class is too good to be true, and the other education officials are all "bad-guy" cardboard cutouts. A subplot involving the teacher (Jane Obinchu) and her husband is contrived and leads nowhere.

The torture scenes are horribly graphic and almost certainly realistic. (See the entry about Kenya in Wikipedia for the terrible details.) Those scenes make the movie completely unsuitable for children, in my opinion.

The film is still worth seeing because it is based on a true event. Who cannot be moved by an 84-year-old who is determined to read? In addition, the acting by the two principals, Naomie Harris as the teacher Jane Obinchu, and Oliver Litondo as Kimani Manuge is superb.

Although the film will work better on a large screen, it will definitely be worth seeing on DVD as well. Seek it out--it's worth the effort.

This film is about a 84-year-old man who insists on attending primary school, when the Kenyan government announces that there is free education for all.

"The First Grader" is about an elderly man who wants to be educated. His action provokes debate within the viewer, as we have to decide on how to interpret the Kenyan government's promise, ethical issues, effective allocation of public resources and opportunity costs. This topic is already very interesting and intellectually stimulating. There is also a subplot about the dark colonial history of Kenya, which probably aims to enhance the viewers' connection with the protagonist. However, I find the subplot ineffective without more detailed background history of Kenya, and more development on this subplot. Despite the shortcoming, "The First Grader" is still a touching and inspiring tale.

This is a very good movie which operates at various levels. Ostensibly about an 84 year-old man going to primary school for the first time, it also covers (in graphic detail) a dark period in Kenya's and Britain's past: The Mau Mau Rebellion.

The issues raised are complex: the right for an old man to an education even if it excludes another child in a country of stretched educational resources; the fight for freedom and the integrity of an oath; and the battle against officialdom are but a few. Above all, it's a struggle against adversity on a variety of levels, both past and present.

The Mau Mau Rebellion is often overlooked in histories outside Kenya and this is well portrayed in the film. At times it is frightening and certainly very threatening and the director contrasts the flashbacks of the past with those of the present.

The acting, cinematography, editing are excellent. As is the beautiful yet unobtrusive soundtrack. And even though it becomes a tad clichéd, it is still an impressive and inspiring story. I was very moved by it—not least the dignity of the old man given all the injustices he suffered. Certainly worth a watch and better than a lot of movies I have seen this year.