A teacher, driven to exasperation from insults and insubordination, takes her class hostage.
Acting
Adjani's volcanic, unfiltered breakdown — career-peak unhinged.
Direction
Lilienfeld crams social critique into real-time tension.
Director
Jean-Paul Lilienfeld
Isabelle Adjani
Sonia Bergerac
Denis Podalydès
Chief Brigadier Labouret, negotiator
Jackie Berroyer
Principal
Yann Collette
Bechet, Labouret’s interventionist superior
Nathalie Besançon
Minister of the Interior
Marc Citti
Frédéric Bergerac, Sonia's husband
Yann Ebongé
Student Mouss M'Diop
Kévin Azaïs
Student Sébastien Lenoir
Sonia Amori
Student Nawel Jabli
Khalid Berkouz
Student Mehmet
Karim Zakraoui
Student Farid
Mélèze Bouzid
Student Khadija Maliki
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Inspired by real tensions in French banlieues and debates around 'laïcité' — the film sparked controversy for Adjani's character using a racial slur, which some critics called necessary realism, others exploitation.
Adjani reportedly struggled with the role's intensity, taking long walks between takes to decompress — her raw performance earned a César nomination despite the film's divisive reception.
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