Chalk (2007)

The Office- in a classroom

Chalk is the story of one year in the lives of multiple teachers. I loved this film. I am in school now to get a degree to teach high school history, so I thought I would check this out. My father was a high school principal so I have seen teachers out of the classroom in candid settings such as a teachers lounge, or out at a dinner partaking in a few drinks, and this movie captures this perfectly. It shows that most teachers are just younger people trying to figure out life. Those of us with children think of them as Teachers 24/7 but this film reminds us that they date, drink, and have issues just like the rest of us. I would highly recommend this film if you like the Office. July 25, 2008

A view from the teacher's side of the desk

Most people who've ever gone through public school or who've had a kid in public school--in other words, most everyone--can wallpaper their house with horror stories about teachers. Eccentricity, incompetence, arrogance, near-illiteracy in some cases, bureaucratic stupidity--on and on the tales go. There's a lot of urban myth to the stories, but there are occasional glimmers of truth.

What we almost never talk about is how demanding and frequently unrewarding public school teaching can be. Director Mike Akel, himself a former teacher, reminds us of this from the get-go in his wonderful "Chalk" by stating at the film's beginning that 50% of public school teachers quit in their first three years. The rest of the film, hilarious at times, touching at others, helps us understand why.

The action focuses on a number of personalities: the brandnew and incredibly--but lovably--geeky and awkward Mr. Lowrey (Troy Schremmer), the pushy but insecure Coach Webb (Janelle Schremmer, Troy's real-life spouse), the bumbling and ambitious Young Turk Mr. Stroope (Chris Masse), and the overworked Assistant Principle Ms. Reddell (Shannon Haragan). A great deal of the dialogue could well be improvisational. It certainly has the feel of spontaneity to it (that's meant as a compliment, by the way). Each in his or her own way is incredibly conscientious, eager to help kids, flawed in one way or another (teachers are, after all, human beings), and faced with a daily barrage of challenges that would cripple most of us. (As a rather worn-out principle tells Ms. Reddell at one point, he looked forward to becoming an administrator so that he wouldn't have to take his work home with him--papers to grade, etc. And he doesn't. That's the good news. The bad news that he's now at work 12 hours a day, plus half of each weekend.)

Instead of tying up loose ends in a nice, happy ending, Akel skillfully closes the film on an ambiguous note that leaves the viewer with mixed emotions.

A very good indie film: well-acted, nicely shot, funny, with a message that provokes thought and compassion. Keep it in mind the next time you get mad at one of your kid's teachers.

July 20, 2008

Lame-o-rama

This movie was pretty horrible. When I rented it, I thought it'd be a true documentary (especially with Morgan Suprlock's name on it). In fact, it was a mostly un-funny scripted "mocumentary". Don't waste your time or money on this one.
July 8, 2008

An accurate view of the first years of teaching

This film is great. It accurately portrays the first few years of teaching and working in administration in a high school from several points of view. I show it to my high school teacher prep class, and it provides for great discussion. Interesting film! June 4, 2008

clever and understated pseudo-documentary

The low-budget comedy "Chalk" provides a welcome antidote to all those inspirational, cookie-cutter crowd-pleasers like "Freedom Writers" and "Dangerous Minds" that Hollywood routinely proffers as its answer to our troubled schools.

Although this is a scripted, fictional film, co-writers Mike Akel (who is also the director) and Chris Mass (who also plays one of the teachers) have given "Chalk" the look and feel of a slice-of-life documentary. Director Akel has trained his cameras on a handful of young teachers and one first-year administrator as they go about the business of molding young minds at a fictional school called Harrison High (though the location remains unidentified, the movie itself was filmed in Austin, Texas). Yet, these are not your typical movie "super teachers" who, through sheer force of personality and a series of well-crafted lessons, are able to convert their initially hardened students into lifelong lovers of learning. Rather, the teachers here are well-meaning but imperfect mortals who wage a daily battle with students who won't learn, copiers that won't copy, and colleagues who often don`t see eye-to-eye even on the most rudimentary aspects of teaching and learning, let alone on how best to run a school. Frankly, it's a good day for these teachers if the students aren't fighting in the lunch area, hiding the chalk as a lame practical joke, or arguing about why they aren't allowed to use a cell phone in class. And there are times in which the teachers themselves come across as more insecure, petty and immature than even their own students. Yet, there are also those special moments when the teachers and pupils manage to connect on a meaningful level - those little flashes of hope that the whole frustrating ordeal might just possibly amount to something worthwhile in the end.

With a droll sense of humor and a flair for gentle satire, the filmmakers poke affectionate fun at the life of a teacher, while at the same time evincing a genuine respect for the characters and what it is they are trying to do. The movie acknowledges that teaching is a difficult profession, yet it doesn't insult those who dedicate their lives to it by pretending that all one need have to be successful is a magical combination of motivational speeches and good intentions.

The cast members, most of whom are newcomers to the movies, never undercut the joke by winking at the camera or treating the material with anything less than total earnestness. They genuinely appear to be ad-libbing their lines, lending to the film the air of spontaneity and improvisation befitting a documentary. And the movie ends on a note of quiet poignancy that reminds us of just how powerful a tool restraint can be in making a point.

By refusing to resort to either melodrama or hyperbole, "Chalk" paints about as realistic a portrait of life in the classroom as I've seen in quite some time. June 1, 2008

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