First Cut

Klass, 2007
directed by Ilmar Raag
*ing Vallo Kirs, Part Uusberg, Lauri Pedaja
Running Time 99 minutes

School shootings, who hasn’t heard about them? Especially after the highly publicized Columbine Massacre in the United States. These tend to be a media wet dream, but in media, they tend to have one thing in common, sympathise with those being shot, and villify the shooters. Estonian director Illmar Raag however destroys convention with the masterpiece of a film, Klass. Despite the attempts of other filmmakers in dealing with the subject of school violence, it doesn’t insult the audience’s intelligence by simplifing the characters and plot into good vs evil, it doesn’t villify nor does it glamourize. Raag presents a very real and very visceral story, with very real characters. And it is a tragedy of the highest order, Not because defenseless teens were gunned down, but the situation those who did the shooting were brought to.

Klass’s story begins with Joosep (Pärt Uusberg), a very average teen who becomes the target of ‘cool’ kids in his class because he is hopeless at basketball. Joosep is a quiet and lonely teen who just wants to be left alone, yet his lack of athletic ability is enough to draw the ire of his classmates and begin to bully, abuse and humiliate him. At first a participant of the humiliating abuse towards Joosep, Kasper (Vallo Kirs) quickly becomes apalled by their treatment of Joosep and begins defending him. Consequently he becomes a target of the rest of the class and both he and Joosep are bullied with increasing viciousness and brutality. Joosep is unable to fight back as he is physically weak to begin with and he has an entire class targetting him, Kasper is a little more defiant but still being outnumbered, he stands no chance. The growing despair over the unending and increasingly extreme hostility they stuff at the hands of their classmates turn the two boys to finally fight back, in the only way they feel they can with their physical inadaquacies with fatal consequences.

This is the first film to look at school violence in a more objective way rather then the simplistic moralism that the media and similar films. These two boys were not violent by nature, they did not look for trouble. It was forced upon them over and over again. All Joosep wanted was to be left alone and finish his school years in peace and quiet while Kasper just wanted a normal life teenagers normally have. It forces us to sympathise with the two, even as they commit horrible violence against unarmed students. There seemed to be little reason to bully these two so viciously other then the reason being because they can and to appear ‘cool’ amoungst their clique. An example is one of the classmates steals Joosep’s notebook containing his homework, the teacher coldly asks where is Joosep’s book, naturally no-one owns up to this so the class was forced for stand for a whole hour doing nothing. Later the classmates bully Joosep more, claiming it to be his fault for the ‘punishment’ they endured.

‘Where are the teachers? The school staff? The parents?’ some might ask. Another bold respresentation has the adults in the film for the most part are shallow, selfish, even apathetic. No-one listens to either Kapser nor Joosep, as their plight becomes a lot more apparent, the help offered is lazy at best. The same notebook incident, the classmate who stole notebook framed Kasper for the crime to the headmistress and threatens him with expulsion. The headmistress totally ignores Kasper’s explanation simply because the student who framed him has ‘The best grades’. As absurd as this is, this is the type of shallow mentality a lot of people in the school systems of the world have. How does Joosep’s father help his son with his predicament? Showing him how to fight by beating him as well. The saddening fact that most adults actually act like this is what makes this aspect of the film even more depressing. Not only does it make both Joosep and Kasper feel alone, it also allows the bullying to continue without fear of punishment.

Even when their emotional threshold is broken, the two boys still hold some compassion. They only want to kill those who caused their suffering, they were not crazy, devoid of all morals and indescriminate in their revenge. Making the last act even more painful to watch as they are not mad with rage. They are incredibly wounded and having lost faith in life, essentially suicidal. The tragedy is they did not deserve to have been driven to this point. To have suffered so and to be abandoned by everyone and to have your dignity removed from you.

The film is not easy to watch by any means nor is it flawless. The quick school montages with a questionable soundtrack during these sequences somewhat detaches from the realism of the film at times, also some of the minor role performances are less then convincing. Still these are minor quibles. At times even at times unbareable to watch and wish you could jump through the screen and do something about this apalling situation. But no, you’re forced to sit down and watch helplessly, impotent to save them before being driven to bloody vengence. I personally was weeping madly by the end of the film, not just mourning the two boys and pitying them desperately. But also with the realisation that this is indeed possible in our world. The realisation that in their place I might have done the same thing. The realisation of having a feeling of satisfaction seeing those responsible for such suffering feeling the fear and helplessness these two boys felt on a daily basis before the bullet ends their lives. It’s a powerful, even at times unbareable film to watch. It’s an emotional experience, in short a masterpiece.

Francis Bisaillon