This is a very touching story, very well done on all levels. A high school theater teacher, suffers from the impolite attitude of her students, and their continuous disrespect. She finds herself with a gun she found with one of her students, and ends up with half of her class as hostages. Here starts the complexed relation between people there. A very important thing that you should know, is the estate of Arab people living in France, their social phobia, and their lack of integration, that led to very big issues lately. That's what this movie talks about. With a great scenario, full of surprises and unexpected events, Lilienfeld makes an emotional social thriller, discussing rights of women, immigrants, Muslims, teachers, respect, pedagogy... Adjani is great in this part, i see she deserves her Cesar, as for the entire cast, especially the teenagers, very convincing. Some "committed thriller movie" is not something we see everyday, so do not miss this good one!

Sonia Bergerac (Isabelle Adjani) is a stressed-out teacher dealing with the aggressive Muslim kids. She confronts Mouss during class and a gun falls out of his backpack. She picks it up and tries to teach Molière while holding the class hostage. Troublemakers Mouss and Sébastien had been picking on Mehmet. The principal had demanded that Sonia stop wearing skirts to appease the aggressive religious crowd and she pointedly refused. She demands a Skirt Day when all the girls wear skirts.

This is quite confrontational and definitely not for the politically correct. There is a battle for the soul of Islam and the movie isn't gentle about the situation. There is an uncomfortable clash of cultures and this dives right into the middle of it. Adjani returns to show her acting prowess. This movie tries to tackle big issues and not everybody will like how it's done.

excerpt, more at my location - Jean-Paul Lilienfeld has certainly ensured his new film Skirt Day will be talked about. Not only is it set in the hotbed of social issues that is Paris' outer regions, it also sees the return after a five year big-screen hiatus of Isabelle Adjani, one of the most celebrated actresses in the history of French cinema. Lilienfeld's film takes place in a lower class high school, and deals with some of the biggest issues of the day such as race, class and the French education system.

Full of emotion, hostility and dark humour, Skirt Day provides heart- pounding drama and astute social commentary in equal doses. All of this is capped off with a scintillating performance from Isabelle Adjani, who really does teach a lesson to any aspiring actresses.