LE GRAND JOUR (A GREAT DAY)

LE GRAND JOUR (A GREAT DAY)

French director Pascal Plisson's last documentary was "Sur le Chermin de L'ecole" ("On the way to School") which followed four children as they made a daily - often hazardous - trek to school in their various countries.

This time Pascal examines four other kids as they strive to make their lives better by being good enough to enter the top schools and training facilities in their respective countries. All four are poor and their countries are fundamentally impoverished.

Nidhi Jha lives in Mongolia and is training to be a dancer good enough for a top dance school. Albert Gonzalez Monteagudo is a Cuban boy who fancies that he will be good enough to train for the National boxing team. Delgermurun 'Deegii' Batjargal lives in India and hopes she is smart enough to pass the Super 30 test which would get her much better education. Tom Ssekabira is a Ugandan learning the ropes to be a national park ranger for better income.

All of their families are dependent on their success and offer varying degrees of support. Monteagudo's mother is supportive of his boxing pursuit but doesn't allow his academic learning to take a back seat. The opposite is the concern of Batjargal who is smart as a whip even though all of the adults are basically illiterate.

For Jha, she must learn the moves of a contortionist and compete against girls whose bodies are like rubber and very precise. Ssekabira's tale is the least interesting as he is very adept with managing the wild animals on the animal reservation.

It goes without saying the cinematography is terrific with everything from spectacular vistas to intimate close-ups of the struggles.

"Le Grand Jour" (A Great Day) is amusing for those interested in the educational quests in the less developed countries. The film does a great job of drawing attention to the desires for success that American's generally take for grant, that other countries treasure. [VOD] -- GEOFF BURTON

GEOFF BURTON

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