source: The First Grader

Watched this when i was in elementary school. I can never look at a mechanical pencil sharpener the sane again. Im not exaggerating when i say this movie scarred me for life. I watched it almost ten years ago and i think about it weekly. I am deeply traumatized. L.

One can not argue with true events so you must absorb the plot and then take a look at what is happening today in parts of Africa. The key is still respect for education because it is a threat to peace. The desire to learn is so deep in the main character--which has been a desire in many who did not have the opportunity. The movie also shows that youth can learn from seniors-therefore I would recommend it for middle school and up. I am so pleased to have been at home when this was shown on Showtime and will certainly encourage all literacy volunteers, teachers, and librarians to view it. Hats off to the director and production staff.

A good retelling of a valiant journey for a hero in the twilight of his life.Great depictions of African people and culture.Stunning photography.

I homeschool my 12 year old daughter. We are eclectic in our curriculum. My daughter is on a grade level with Sophomore students. This film opened our eyes to the struggle happening in Kenya while the British were fighting over land. This is a great follow up movie to The Good Lie. Although completely different storyline, there is a familiarity and almost mirroring between the two films. This story follows Maruge, an 84 year old gentleman who was part of the Mau Mau tribe and taken into custody after his family was brutally murdered before his eyes. Maruge never received an education, as was true for the majority of adults during this time period. The First Grader follows Maruge's struggle to receive an education and learn to read well after his release from the detainee/work camp in 1963. Maruge appeals to adult and teenaged viewers. He is a classic underdog. He is worth rooting for. Jane Obinchu is the primary school teacher in this remote location in Kenya. She's instantly likable. The viewer feels her pull to help Maruge despite her husband's insistence that it will be nothing but trouble. Jane is engaging, endearing, and in the end, a classic heroine. I would recommend this movie to open up lines of communication between yourself and your child. To expose them to real people during a real event that could easily be used as a 'Torchlighters" series. Follow it up or set it up with The Good Lie. Both well done. Both deserving of an audience.

A great story. True. But not serviced well here. An extremely complex story boiled down to a hollywoodized version of bad guys vs good guys, fuzzy elements of the past in flashback at pivotal points of the slow moving story, bad guys and good guys delineated so clearly they might have been wearing sandwich boards on their backs, several elements of the story leading nowhere, transformation of characters sudden and without development. And - oh yes graphic torture scenes unsuitable for children. And let's not forget the classic breakthrough boardroom scene with astounded and receptive officials who never call security when the intruder appears like a crazed lunatic to Bring. About. Change. Good acting, lovely singing but not enough to carry the clichés. 6/10

The first grader is a true story about an 84 year old Kimani Maruge (Oliver Litondo) who decides to go back to school after learning that the Kenyan government has introduced free education. He was a MauMau soldier a fact that prevented him from getting an education he so desired due to the war. He goes back to school so he can learn how to read the bible and a letter he received. This decision takes him on a journey full of struggles, which he has to overcome. The head teacher Jane Obinchu (Naomi Harris) undergoes the struggles with Maruge, which rocks her marriage and also gets her transferred to another school. The movie's theme is the struggle a person undergoes when attempting to accomplish his or her goals. The movie's plot combined with good acting from Oliver Litondo and Naomi Harris shows his journey and struggles. Maruge and Obinchu fight the parents, villagers, education board, and teachers that are against his going back to school as they see do not see the reason why an old man about to die needs education. To them this is a waste of the schools scarce resources. Conviction, a movie about Carl Upchurch, a felon who turns his life around while in prison by getting an education and discovering his identity has a similar theme to that of the First Grader. In his mission to help out people who are in the same situation he was in he faces a lot of opposition and mockery from people due to his past, but never gives up hope. The first grader uses low-key lighting to create a somber mood and especially when Maruge has flashbacks of his days in the forest as a MauMau soldier and the torture he endured. The movie also uses high-key lighting with the difference between light and dark areas being wide thus creating powerful dramatic images. The movie also employs motifs, which is in form of Marugue's struggle and journey. The flashbacks about Maruge's days as a MauMau veteran and the suffering he and others endured in order to help Kenya achieve its independence is the motif that reflects the movies theme. In the movie, Maruge is suffering and is also being ridiculed by other due to his decision to get an education. The first grader is an inspirational story that takes the viewer through the struggle of a man to achieve his goal of learning how to read so he can understand the bible and a letter he received.

This is a very moving account of actual events that took place 2003-2005, with a little poetic license in the retelling. The principle actors are brilliant, but some of the other characters are a little overdrawn. However, I think this kind of caricature may be derived from Kenyan culture. I thoroughly enjoyed the character development as well as the pacing of the story. It is also set in dramatic Kenyan landscapes which are enthralling. Having visited Kenya briefly in 2006, this brought back a lot of good memories of the country and the people. The smiles of the children you see amid the poverty is exactly how I remember it. As others have said, it isn't a movie for children, but should be on the "to watch" list for adolescents and adults.

Watched this on DVD. I spent most of my life in Africa (so far) and loved the sweeping shots of rural Kenya and the enthusiasm of the Kenyan children and of course Maruge. It's a feel good movie that lost its way. The person I would most like to see it – my son - will be denied the opportunity because I feel that the torture scenes are too extreme. I realise that the Mau Mau uprising resulted in terrible recrimination in Kenya (especially for the Kikuyus) and should not be glossed over. But feel that the producers of The First Grader have missed a great opportunity to really inspire the primary schoolchildren on the world – that you should only stop learning "until you have soil in your ears!"

This is a wonderful and inspiring film. It's about a teacher and an eighty year old pupil who wants to learn to read who has never had a formal education. It's also about history, Africa, colonialism – it takes in a lot of diverse topics and it does it all rather well. It's not one of these syrupy films where all the villagers unite behind the teacher and her new elder pupil – in fact the opposite happens. The film has a distinctive African authenticity – the classroom, the village, the different tribal groupings... One only wishes there could be more films like this instead of the vapid drivel that we are being constantly offered (such as fantasy action films...)