To Be and to Have
A tender observational portrait of one teacher sustaining a multigenerational classroom in rural France.
Overview
A heartwarming glimpse into the joys and challenges of rural education.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- gentle
- intimate
- contemplative
- quiet afternoon
- educational viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard it as a small, sensitive, and moving portrait of a dedicated teacher and his students, praised for its humane observational approach.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The camera follows classroom routines, lessons, conflicts, and excursions while allowing the teacher and children to reveal the school's rhythms themselves.
Small classroom exchanges, private lessons, family concerns, and moments of concentration create the film's moving emotional register.
The one-room school depends on cooperation across ages, with one teacher guiding children from four to eleven through shared educational life.
The school and surrounding country life in rural France form a compact social world organized around local families and shared routines.
Films like To Be and to Have, and why
The Gleaners and I
observational documentary filmmaking focused on everyday social relationships and patient humanist attention
Sweetgrass
quiet observational portraiture, rural community life, and intimate attention to ordinary people
The School of the Americas
sensitive documentary study of education, childhood, and the emotional bond between teacher and students
Movie Details
- Director
- Nicolas Philibert
- Release Date
- 2002-08-28
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (153)
Cast
- Georges Lopez
- Johan
- Alizé
- Guillaume
- Létitia
- Johann
- Jonathan
- Olivier
- Laura
- Marie-Elizabeth
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Kino Film Collection
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is To Be and to Have about?
- A tender observational portrait of one teacher sustaining a multigenerational classroom in rural France.
- What is To Be and to Have like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of To Be and to Have as measured, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is To Be and to Have violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in To Be and to Have.
- What did critics think of To Be and to Have?
- Critics broadly regard it as a small, sensitive, and moving portrait of a dedicated teacher and his students, praised for its humane observational approach.
- Which films are like To Be and to Have?
- Films with a similar feel include The Gleaners and I, Sweetgrass, and The School of the Americas.
- How long is To Be and to Have?
- To Be and to Have runs 104 minutes.
- Where can I watch To Be and to Have?
- In United States, To Be and to Have streams on Kino Film Collection.
