La journée de la jupe
| La journée de la jupe | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Jean-Paul Lilienfeld |
| Written by | Jean-Paul Lilienfeld |
| Starring | Isabelle Adjani Denis Podalydès |
| Release date(s) | 2009 |
| Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $905,445[1] |
Skirt Day (French: La Journée de la jupe) is a 2008 French drama film directed by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld and starring Isabelle Adjani as a high school teacher.
A key point of the plot of the movie happened in real life: a request was sent to the French Secretary of Education to propose a Skirt Day.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Sonia Bergerac (Adjani) is a French literature teacher who favours wearing a skirt and teaches at a high school in a bad neighborhood. She increasingly resents the daily burden of violence and interaction with unmotivated students, even more so since the departure of her husband.
During the rehearsal of a theatre play with one of her classes, she finds a gun in a student's bag. She struggles to grab the gun, and a shot is fired accidentally that injures the student's leg. Totally overwhelmed, she loses control and takes her class hostage, opportunistically creating a proper — although biased — teaching environment.
While school officials, a negotiator, the SWAT team and high ranking politicians outside try to figure out what is going on and how to react, Sonia forces the students to see things her way and ultimately shows them the contradictions in their own lives.
[edit] Cast
- Isabelle Adjani as Sonia Bergerac, French literature teacher
- Denis Podalydès as Chief Labouret, SWAT negotiator
- Jackie Berroyer as school principal
- Yann Collette as Officer Bechet, Labouret's ranking officer, who wants to put a show of force
- Yann Ebonge as Mouss, the gun-toting student
- Khalid Berkouz as Mehmet, the beaten-up kid
- Sonia Amori as Nawel
- Sarah Douali as Farida
- Mélèze Bouzid as Khadija
- Nathalie Besançon as the Minister of the Interior
- Karim Zakraoui as Farid
- Marc Citti as Frédéric Bergerac, Sonia's husband
- Kévin Azaïs as Sébastien, Mouss's friend
- Hassan Mezhoud as Akim
- Fily Doumbia as Adiy
- Salim Boughidene as Jérôme
- Olivier Brocheriou as Julien
- Anne Girouard as Cécile
- Stéphan Guérin-Tillié as François
[edit] Reception
The movie was screened at the première of Berlin International film festival 2009,[3][4] and was first broadcast on European culture TV channel Arte on March 20, 2009 before being released in cinemas on March 25, 2009. Lilienfeld said that the lack of funding prevented a typical theatre release and prompted a prior broadcast on TV. The inaugural release covered 50 cinemas, but this number grew because of growing public interest.[5]
The movie was controversial because of its theme, viewpoint and the hurdles that led to an atypical cinema and TV release. It is debated whether the movie is "politically incorrect", especially in light of the success of similarly-themes movie Entre les murs[6] a few months earlier. It was nominated for Best Film at the 35th César Awards and Isabelle Adjani won a record fifth award for Best Actress. It was her first role in six years and considered to be a comeback for her.
German arts and culture TV channel ZDF KULTUR produced a German language theatre play for television broadcast version entitled VERRUKTES BLUT.
[edit] In popular culture
A key point of the plot happened in real life even before the theatrical release. As in the movie, some students in France sent a request[2] to the Secretary of Education to propose that a Skirt Day be observed every year. The intent was to have the government issue a strong signal that it is legitimate for female teachers to dress with a skirt while teaching, instead of complying with ultra-conservative policies implicitly enforced by aggressive students.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- La journée de la jupe at the Internet Movie Database
- Official website (French)
