A Leap Of Faith

To call this earnest documentary about the first year of a primary school in Belfast amateurish isn't entirely a criticism -- its utterly artless, unstudied air may be the best thing about it. First-time filmmakers Jenifer McShane and Tricia Regan, both Americans, take on the very big subject of the Irish Troubles through the very small prism of Cranmore Integrated Primary School-- integrated in this case having nothing to do with race and everything to do with religion. At the film's center is Helen Farrimond -- an educator whose common sense and dedication to teaching is evident in her every word and action, and the driving force behind Cranmore -- but she...