The Class (film)
Encyclopedia
The Class is an Estonia
n film about school violence
directed by Ilmar Raag
. It was released on March 16, 2007.
After Joosep's parents find out that their son is being beaten while attending school, the father tries to encourage his son to fight back, and demonstrates a fighting technique by giving the boy an additional beating. Joosep's mother informs the school administration. At last the class as a whole is rightly blamed. Out of revenge for this, the class assembles on a beach, calling both Kaspar and Joosep there by writing emails to them showing each other as fake sender. Once there, they force Kaspar to fellate
Joosep, at knife point, and photograph the sexual act without showing the knife.
The boys decide to avenge themselves. Joosep steals guns and ammunition from his militaristic father's gun safe, and the two proceed to school, where they massacre the students responsible for their torment. To their regret they also accidentally kill a girl from another class. Finally Joosep and Kaspar, facing one another, each aim a gun at their own head, decide to commit suicide together after counting to three. Joosep pulls the trigger and dies, but the film ends with Kaspar still standing there with his gun aiming at his head.
and Warsaw International Film Festival
. The movie was also the official Estonian submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Academy Awards.
and the Kauhajoki school shooting
. In analysis of both events, the movie has been raised as an illustration by columnists and other media pundits.
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n film about school violence
School violence
School violence is widely held to have become a serious problem in recent decades in many countries, especially where weapons such as guns or knives are involved...
directed by Ilmar Raag
Ilmar Raag
Ilmar Raag is an Estonian media executive, screenwriter and film director, best known for his socio-critical film The Class . He has served as CEO of Estonian National Television from 2002 to 2005. He is well known columnist in many prestigious Estonian newspapers...
. It was released on March 16, 2007.
Plot
The Estonian teenager Joosep (a name derived from the same biblical origin as English "Joseph") is being bullied by his entire high school class. The class continually beats Joosep, and harasses him in other ways as well, such as fully undressing him and then pushing him in the girls' changing room. Fellow classmate Kaspar tries to protect him and breaks from the group, which results in the violence being directed to him as well. Also, in a homophobic atmosphere Joseph and Kaspar are ridiculed for supposedly having gay feelings for each other. Nevertheless, when the school administration and Joosep's parents try to find out who is to blame for the treatment Joosep has been receiving, the class unanimously but falsely accuses Kaspar of mistreating him.After Joosep's parents find out that their son is being beaten while attending school, the father tries to encourage his son to fight back, and demonstrates a fighting technique by giving the boy an additional beating. Joosep's mother informs the school administration. At last the class as a whole is rightly blamed. Out of revenge for this, the class assembles on a beach, calling both Kaspar and Joosep there by writing emails to them showing each other as fake sender. Once there, they force Kaspar to fellate
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
Joosep, at knife point, and photograph the sexual act without showing the knife.
The boys decide to avenge themselves. Joosep steals guns and ammunition from his militaristic father's gun safe, and the two proceed to school, where they massacre the students responsible for their torment. To their regret they also accidentally kill a girl from another class. Finally Joosep and Kaspar, facing one another, each aim a gun at their own head, decide to commit suicide together after counting to three. Joosep pulls the trigger and dies, but the film ends with Kaspar still standing there with his gun aiming at his head.
Cast
- Vallo Kirs - Kaspar
- Pärt UusbergPärt UusbergPärt Uusberg is an Estonian actor, composer and conductor. He played Joosep in the film The Class.His brother Uku Uusberg is also an actor. His father Valter Uusberg is an animation director.-Selected filmography:*Oleg...
- Joosep - Lauri PedajaLauri PedajaLauri Pedaja is an Estonian actor and hairdresser. He debuted as an actor in 2007 film The Class directed by Ilmar Raag, where he had one of the lead roles.-Filmography:FilmsTelevision- External links :* at Rate.ee...
- Anders - Paula Solvak - Thea
- Mikk Mägi - Paul
- Riina Ries - Riina
- Joonas Paas - Toomas
- Kadi Metsla - Kati
- Triin Tenso - Kerli
- Virgo Ernits - Tiit
- Karl Sakrits - Olav
Awards
In 2007, the movie received an award from Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalKarlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events....
and Warsaw International Film Festival
Warsaw International Film Festival
Warsaw International Film Festival , also known as the Warsaw FilmFest, is a film festival held every October in Warsaw, Poland. The festival has been held every year since 1985....
. The movie was also the official Estonian submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Academy Awards.
Political invocations
Since the movie was released, two school shootings have taken place in nearby Finland — the Jokela school shootingJokela school shooting
The Jokela school massacre was a school shooting that occurred on November 7, 2007, at Jokela High School in Jokela, a town in the municipality of Tuusula, Finland. The gunman, 18-year-old student Pekka-Eric Auvinen, entered the school on that morning armed with a semi-automatic pistol. He killed...
and the Kauhajoki school shooting
Kauhajoki school shooting
The Kauhajoki school shooting was a school shooting that occurred on 23 September 2008, at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences in Kauhajoki, a city in Western Finland. The gunman, 22-year-old culinary arts student Matti Juhani Saari, shot and fatally injured ten people with a semi-automatic...
. In analysis of both events, the movie has been raised as an illustration by columnists and other media pundits.
External links
- Variety review
- The Class online at ETVEesti TelevisioonEesti Televisioon is the national public television station of Estonia. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955.The bulk of ETV's funding comes from government grant-in-aid, around 15% of which is in turn funded by the fees paid by Estonian commercial broadcasters in return for their...
archives (Only in Estonian)