The First Grader (2010)

Very best movie i ever watch

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Truly a Soul Enriching Journey: the rare piece of Cinema which might just change your interior life... to say much more than this is to take away from what Matters. My Emotional and Spiritual Journey through life is forever Sweetened by this Evocative, true-life story~ it is as if i've learned to find a Hero, all over again, for the first time.i know i can never have anything in common with this man, and yet i feel as though i love him... i would joyfully invite him into my life and would find paradise at his knee listening to him tell the stories of his life... his strength, courage, tenacity, need, and generosity of spirit make me feel shame at being human and find redemption in humanity at the same time. i've gained so much by giving just these few moments to this film, his story will stay with me until the End of Time. If there is a person on earth i admire as much as him, i've yet to meet them.

This is a very good movie which operates at various levels. Ostensibly about an 84 year-old man going to primary school for the first time, it also covers (in graphic detail) a dark period in Kenya's and Britain's past: The Mau Mau Rebellion.The issues raised are complex: the right for an old man to an education even if it excludes another child in a country of stretched educational resources; the fight for freedom and the integrity of an oath; and the battle against officialdom are but a few. Above all, it's a struggle against adversity on a variety of levels, both past and present.The Mau Mau Rebellion is often overlooked in histories outside Kenya and this is well portrayed in the film. At times it is frightening and certainly very threatening and the director contrasts the flashbacks of the past with those of the present.The acting, cinematography, editing are excellent. As is the beautiful yet unobtrusive soundtrack. And even though it becomes a tad clichéd, it is still an impressive and inspiring story. I was very moved by it—not least the dignity of the old man given all the injustices he suffered. Certainly worth a watch and better than a lot of movies I have seen this year.

This film is about a 84-year-old man who insists on attending primary school, when the Kenyan government announces that there is free education for all."The First Grader" is about an elderly man who wants to be educated. His action provokes debate within the viewer, as we have to decide on how to interpret the Kenyan government's promise, ethical issues, effective allocation of public resources and opportunity costs. This topic is already very interesting and intellectually stimulating. There is also a subplot about the dark colonial history of Kenya, which probably aims to enhance the viewers' connection with the protagonist. However, I find the subplot ineffective without more detailed background history of Kenya, and more development on this subplot. Despite the shortcoming, "The First Grader" is still a touching and inspiring tale.

I just saw this film, yesterday, at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival.I think this is the first time that I can say that a film has had a profound affect upon me. It's a fantastic story, and what makes it all the more amazing, as confirmed by Justin Chadwick at the festival, everything you see in the film is true and actually happened.I am not ashamed to admit that I was moved to tears, and these were not tears of joy. Emotionally, this is a heavyweight amongst films.The film also left me not being very proud to be British. It covers, in flash back, a part of our history that I am sure most of my fellow countrymen would wish had never happened.I would strongly recommend that every Britain and every Kenyan watches this film. It will move them all to tears, and teach us all lessons we should not forget for the future.If you do go to watch it, take plenty of handkerchiefs. You'll need them!