FLICKS.CO.NZ

Out now on dvd/blu-ray

The First Grader, Movie

The First Grader 2010

Trailers
Reviews
Stuff

It's never too late to dream.

The true story of an 84-year-old Kenyan villager and civil war veteran who fights for his right to go to school, and get the education he could never afford. From the director of The Other Boleyn Girl. More

"Set in Kenya in 2003... the story of Maruge, an 84-year-old village elder who uses a government initiative to introduce free primary schooling. A former Mau Mau fighter, Maruge’s desire to learn to read and write has been sparked by the arrival of an important letter from the government. However, when he presents himself at the local school gates, he finds head teacher Jane alone in being sympathetic to his cause: her colleagues are unenthusiastic and her superiors appalled." (London International Film Festival).

The film is shot on location at the stunning Kenyan Rift Valley and involves Kenyan kids with no acting backgrounds. Hide

DVD / Blu-Ray

DVD

$19.99

BUY IT NOW

116 votes / 16 comments The Talk

  • 75 %

    Want to See it

    What say you?

    • Tim

      looks great

    • Tyrus

      Heart breaken!

    • Blais

      Awesome! Will be heart warming to watch.

    • Mark

      The sort of movie people like and critics don't

    • Sneeze

      The kind of story I like to hear & be educated about.

    • marklar

      wow, absolutely phenomenal looking film

    • SFL

      Looks amazing! Tissues and chocolate booked!

    • khan

      touchy looks awesome!!

    • Tania1

      cry every time I see this trailer

    • Pedro Bear

      This man is an inspiration.

    • Mkkkk

      Saw this last night and it was AMAZING!!!!

    • Eddy

      Fantastic film! If you like Kenya, you'll like this film.

    • Sharon

      Kenya? what about the heart strings that get pulled in this movie

    • KenKirkbride

      It looks a brilliant movie and are sure most people will enjoy.

    • Kepa

      Gotta see this movie, seems to have some heart to it. Choice!

  • CARE TO COMMENT?

    Want to see it?

 

Flicks.co.nz Review

Rating:

  • AGREE? DISAGREE?...

comment / reply
Andreas Heinemann Flicks Writer

The true story of an elderly Mau Mau freedom fighter getting a free primary school education in Kenya is a unique piece of source material. Whilst there are times when the film lives up to that promise, it also comes with contrived weaknesses that stop the film reaching its potential. More

You cannot level that accusation at the cast. The two central characters, the titular student Maruge and his plucky teacher Jane, turn in well-rounded, fleshed out performances that are the piece’s highlight.

Given the script they were working from, it can’t have been easy. The story is told partly with flashbacks to Maruge’s past, namely scenes of torture that he endured. Whilst these do make him even more sympathetic, they don’t really gel with the rest of the film’s tone and come across as gratuitous. Meanwhile, the scenes taking place in the ‘present’ day have been given a little too much of the Hollywood treatment, and, with the melodrama cranked up as high as it is, it’s hard to believe this was a true story.

Pertinent social commentary is sprinkled throughout, and, although it would’ve been nice to see that expressed in more subtle fashion, The First Grader works as a tearjerker with occasional moments of genuine levity and emotional gravity. Hide

The People's Reviews

Rating:

1 ratings and 1 review

All reviews (1)

  • AGREE? DISAGREE?...

comment / reply

Highly enjoyable.

Brian1 Flicks Superstar (?)

Think the negative comment is abit off te mark. true a little dramatic, not what you should expect from Nat Geo, still a damned good watch.

Your rating / review...

Rate it:

Review it:

After submitting your review, you will need to login or signup to Flicks. Don't worry though, we'll keep your review and post it after you're done.

Press Reviews

A.V. Club (USA)

The First Grader offers a tumultuous but uplifting journey. Full review.

Empire (UK)

An amazing tru-life story that's Hollywoodised within an inch of its life. A missed opportunity for something really special. Full review.

Hollywood Reporter

Strikes a perfect balance between humor and tragic gravity. Full review.

Los Angeles Times

Anchored by a lovely performance from Oliver Litondo as Maruge and an exuberant Naomie Harris as Jane Obinchu, the school principal who champions his cause, the result is a tearful, joyful, imperfect, yet nearly irresistible ode to the human spirit. Full review.

The Guardian (UK)

It's a complex scenario, but this movie winds up telling a straightforward, and slightly sucrose, heartwarming tale. Full review.

The Observer (UK)

This is wholesome and uplifting in the classic carpe diem manner. Full review.

Total Film (UK)

A heart-tugging true story. Full review.

Variety (USA)

The uplifting true story of world's oldest primary school student, The First Grader reels you in with its human-interest hook, but packs an even more vital agenda: enlisting Kenyan locals to share little-known details of their nation's independence. Full review.