Classmates

The mesmeric Anna Ferzetti (the president’s daughter Dorotea in Sorrentino’s La Grazia) brings vitality to her role as a spirited English teacher sent to a high school in the Roman suburb of Rebibbia to take on a class of maladjusted students. At least this is how the youngsters are viewed by the staff, who immediately mistrust the new professoressa for her natural authority and capacity to connect with the troublemakers. The film’s masterful combination of high-energy ensemble scenes and moments of melancholy intimacy works via an evocative directorial approach founded on an innate ability to see through the “camouflage” of young people who are just starting to make sense of the world.