The History Boys (2006)

The film is set in Cutlers' Grammar School, a boys' school in Sheffield in 1983. Eight boys have recently obtained the school's highest ever A-level scores and are hoping to enter Oxford or Cambridge, taking a seventh-term entrance exam in History. The General Studies teacher, known by his nickname "Hector" (Richard Griffiths) works alongside deputy head and regular History teacher, Mrs. Lintott (Frances de la Tour). The headmaster, Felix (Clive Merrison), hires young contract teacher Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore) to assist Hector and Mrs Lintott to prepare the boys for the Oxbridge entrance exams. Irwin's style is to put a spin on their historical analysis, and value originality above objective truth. Hector offers some of his students rides home on his motorcycle and fondles his passengers. The boys laugh off their teacher's advances and continue to take turns riding home on the back of his bike. Hector gets in trouble when he is reported by a crossing guard witness. The headmaster orders Hector to retire early, and also that Hector and Irwin share a class.

The boys receive their results and they have all gained Oxbridge places, except for the group's sportsman, Rudge (Russell Tovey). At the end of the term the students prepare to leave school, and Hector is killed while riding with Irwin on his motorcycle. The movie ends with a series of moments involving Hector, leading up to when a photograph of the entire class was taken at Fountains Abbey, a scene from earlier in the film. The photo fills the entire screen, and the closing credits are shown over the photo.

I've left out the gay sex parts with the boys because it is very complicated. This witty film with deadpan humour is a homophobic-free exploration of the joys of teaching and learning, in an atmosphere of adolescent homoeroticism. It was adapted by Alan Bennett from his play of the same name, which won the 2005 Olivier Award for Best New Play and the 2006 Tony Award for Best Play. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, who directed the original stage production at the Royal National Theatre in London, it features the original cast of the play. The students are played by: Samuel Anderson, Samuel Barnett, Dominic Cooper, James Corden, Sacha Dhawan, Andrew Knott, Jamie Parker, and Russell Tovey.

Les Roseaux Sauvages (1994)

In 1962, Maïté Alvarez (Élodie Bouchez) and François Forestier (Gaël Morel) are 18 years old each, living in a village in SW France at a boarding school. They are platonic friends who share a love of French nouvelle vague cinema. Maïté is interested in having a sexual relationship with François, but he withdraws from her when she mentions it. In François's classroom there are athletic Serge Bartolo (Stéphane Rideau), whose brother has just married to try to escape from war service in Algeria, and Henri Mariani (Frédéric Gorny), a pied-noir (Algerian-born Frenchman). François discovers he is gay one night when Serge seduces him. To Serge it is just a school age adventure, but for François it is love so intense he is transformed. They have a homosexual relationship and throughout the movie François tries to get a straight answer from Serge concerning the possible future of their relationship--but Serge remains evasive. Serge's older brother is killed in Algeria and his teacher blames herself for not helping him to escape his military service and suffers a nervous breakdown. Serge wants to marry his brother's widow Irène (Nathalie Vignes). However this sub plot is not well-connected with the rest of the film. Henri is a little older and more cynical, and finds heterosexual love with his enemy Maïté, a communist who doesn't seem interested in him. All these complications play out in the context of the Algerian War, with the characters displaying different sympathies for the opponents in the conflict.

This coming-of-age French movie revolves around an unrequited love quadrangle between four adolescents at a boarding school. What makes this film superior is the warm and honest way the sexual awakenings are dramatized and perfectly acted by a young cast. The slightly loose and episodic feel of this charming, sophisticated, blunt-but-gentle movie is perfectly suited for this tale of youthful gains and losses. Johann Strauss's "Voices of Spring" waltz, Barber's "Adagio for Strings" and some well-known 1960s American pop music are featured in the soundtrack. Written by Olivier Massart and Gilles Taurand. André Téchiné directed. At the 1995 César Awards, "Les Roseaux Sauvages" won Best Film, Best Director, Most Promising Young Actress, and Best Original Screenplay. In French with English subtitles, the English title is "Wild Reeds".