To Be And To Have

One of the opening shots of To Be and to Have features a pair of turtles slowly crawling across a classroom floor. As it happens, these two creatures foreground the pacing for this documentary, an exploration of life within a one-classroom school in rural France. This is not to say that the film isn't worthwhile; indeed, those who teach might find it an intriguing glimpse into an increasingly rare educational phenomenon. Still, To Be and to Have features little in the way of interviews with the school's gifted teacher, George Lopez, or his students and their families, and what ultimately comes across is a very narrow range of focus that detracts from what could have been a powerful documentary film. Almost all of the action takes place within the classroom, footage culled from nearly 600 hours of recorded film. Given that extraordinary amount of material, one wonders how and why Philbert chose the content he did. Although there are plenty of endearing moments with the children, nothing groundbreaking appears onscreen (though from an American perspective, it is almost jarring to witness how well-behaved they are, with none of daring to talk back to the teacher or to throw a temper tantrum). At times, the film feels vaguely exploitative, as in the instance where Lopez confronts a distraught young boy over his father's serious illness. Although one might argue that scenes such as these illustrate Lopez's caring capacity and his ability to reach out to students beyond the classroom, they nonetheless come off as mildly gratuitous and out of place given the film's otherwise somewhat detached tone. Not even To Be and to Have's uplifting tone and precious youngsters can overcome the film's overall shortcomings. Ultimately, what comes across is more a testament to the skills of one extraordinary teacher than an enduring document of life within the classroom.

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