The most successful class I had with immersion was the French IV film class. During the course of the semester we watched, in this order:
Ma Vie en Rose
La Vie en Rose /La môme Piaf
Jean de Florette
Manon de Source
Les Tripelettes de Belleville
La Cité des Enfants Perdus
Le Fabuleux Déstin d'Amélie Poulain
La Haine
Their two favorite films were La Vie en Rose and La Haine. I thought that the confusing nature of the story of Edith Piaf, mostly flashbacks and dark scenes that were often difficult to see in my well-lit room, would put them off. They fell in love with her. They went online, downloaded her music, memorized her lyrics, and when I pulled up her songs in class to study, they belted them out at the top of their lungs.
They really enjoyed watching Jean de Florette and Manon de Source, especially after the dark style of La Vie en Rose. The film didn't really stick with them, though, not the way that Edith did, and they said that this was because she was a real person, with real problems.
The other film they loved dearly was La Haine. Prior to watching this film I had the kids read two articles from my college French books about the banlieues and the social implications of subsidized housing and poverty on the culture of these areas. They struggled a lot through the reading, but when we discussed the reading comprehension in English, they did very well. By the time we watched La Haine, they were well prepared for the violence and the difficult cycle of hatred between the banlieue and the police. The next time I teach La Haine I will spend at least two weeks on this, and include work about the riots of 2005, and Sarkozy. They fully grasped the cycle of hate and how it was perpetuated by both sides.
They found the film La Cité des Enfants Perdus bizarre and disturbing, which it is. We finished this film by reading a French philosophical review, and then the american review by Roger Ebert. They did an excellent job of identifying the contrasts between the physical elements of the film and the ideas, for example, the adults are underdeveloped, while the children are wise, street-smart and resilient.
They found Amélie very confusing and difficult to follow, even with English subtitles. Next year when I teach that film, I will break it down into various scenes, and do a better job of scaffolding the story through cinematography.
Overall the film class went well. Film as text is definitely something that will continue to use at the higher levels, although developing my understanding of cinematography and how to extract the language from the films in order to teach it is something I have to work on.
