Sundance Review: RADICAL is a Wonderful Uplifting Film About a Teacher Wanting To Make a Difference
Radical is the movie that kicked off The Sundance Film Festival. This was the opening movie of the fest and it was such a wonderful way of starting off my Sundance experience this year.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I sat down to watch this movie. I tend to avoid all details with the opening night Sundance film because it’s usually a pleasant surprise and that’s exactly what Radical ended up being!
This is a moving, heartfelt, and uplifting movie that tells the true story of a sixth-grade teacher in Matamoros, who comes to an elementary school to test out a radical new way of teaching kids. His plan is completely unconventional in letting the kids guide the lessons in class and learn from things that they’re interested in or they have questions about and treating the kids like they are actual human beings. It’s the exact opposite of how things have been taught in school for years… and it works!
The story played out in such a beautiful way and it’s certainly a tear-jerker. There are several moments in the film that punch your emotions and you can’t hold back the tears.
The movie stars Eugenio Derbez (Coda) as Jose Urbina Lopez, and the synopsis reads: “Who will the sixth grade students at Elementary in Matamoros become? They are among the worst performing students in Mexico, the world they know is one of violence and hardship, and their classrooms are dominated by an atmosphere of overbearing discipline, not possibility. It might seem like a dead end… but it is also the perfect place for new teacher Sergio Juarez to try something different. There’s just one problem: Sergio (played by an amazing Eugenio Derbez) has no idea what he’s doing.”
The characters who were introduced in the story are based on real individuals and you can’t help but fall in love with the main players in the story. The performances were also fantastic. The film is led by Eugenio Derbez from the Overboard remake and he gave a powerful performance.
The film was directed by Christopher Zalla, and the film is described as an “honest, playful, powerfully inspiring story about a teacher who takes a radical approach with overlooked, apathetic kids to trigger their curiosity and discover the joy of learning… to let kids — who live in a world where they can't be kids — become kids again. Based on true events, Radical shines a light on the incredible potential children can manifest when an innovative teacher empowers them to think for themselves.”
The story isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but I walked out of the film with a heart full of joy and a big smile on my face.
