Screening at Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, 2014: Mar. 8, 12:45 pm ET (IFC); Mar. 16, 1:30 pm ET (WTR).
The United Nations estimates that there are about 175 million immigrants worldwide or about 3% of the planet's population. In developed countries, one in 120 people is an immigrant. By contrast, in developing countries, only one in 70 people is an immigrant. This huge number of people moving from one place to another is both a cause and a consequence of globalization.
The immigration issue is one of the most contentious debates in countries all around the world. Are immigrants good for the local economy or not? How do you define "us" and "them"? Are they becoming too great a drain on society in terms of their needs for education, health care, and social services? Some of these questions come up in Julie Bertuccelli's (Since Otar Left, The Tree) enlightening documentary School of Babel.
Teacher Brigitte Cervoni welcomes students from around the world into the school La Grange aux Belles in northern France. Her task is a formidable one: to provide a transition for immigrant children who spend a year learning French and a core curriculum which will enable them to enter regular classes. The children range in age from 11 to 15 and they prove to be a versatile group. They come from China, Serbia, Venezuela, Ireland, Guinea, Ukraine, Libya, and other countries.
The students have been encouraged by their parents to do well in school so they will raise the standard of living for their families. Interviews with the parents are very informative, revealing what their kids experienced in life. The most controversial topics discussed in the classroom have to do with religion and the fears about the future.
The sensitive filmmaker puts the spiritual practice of hospitality at the center of this documentary. We are enriched by her portrait of students struggling to respect the "others" they have been taught to fear and not trust. Here the sharing of stories (and the beautiful song of a blonde girl) opens the hearts and then the minds of students.
