Directed by Christopher Zalla
Starring Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Haddad, Jennifer Trejo, and Danilo Guardiola

In 2011 at Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary, the final grades for a fresh class of sixth grade pupils at this Mexican border town school located in Matamoros have already been decided by their teachers before the term even begins. Merely ensuring they pass is an incentive the teachers will be awarded for. Achieving that is a challenge in itself though at the self-dubbed “school of punishment” where the modus operandi is a one size fits all approach to teaching and disciplining those who do not comply. Then there are students who will simply drop out, which is another expected outcome that is simply accepted. Enter new teacher Sergio Juarez (played by Eugenio Derbez) who possesses an unrivalled passion and unorthodox approach to teaching that unlocks the potential of his students and ruffles the feathers of fellow faculty members.

Based on a true story and taken from a 2013 article published in a monthly American magazine, Wired, Radical is an impressively focused film that for most part is light-hearted and easy viewing. There is so much for Radical’s story to be distracted by and a plethora of social issues and personal themes it could have explored. The aforementioned education settings for one. These unfortunate kids are never even given the chance to recognise or explore their own potential let alone to be set-up for success. If they even choose to attend school, they are attending one that is severely neglected. Their environment outside of school is also not one to thrive in, as sometimes seen in impoverished households and while walking past a homicide crime scene on the way home from school. So, it really is credit to co-writer and director Christopher Zalla for finding ways to incorporate these settings without ever losing sight of what his ultimate goal is, and the film experience he intends to and does indeed give audiences.

Mr Juarez’s unconventional and very much go-with-the-flow teaching practices often generate amusement and certainly earn appreciation from adults who will comprehend just what he is doing. Despite throwing the rule book out of the classroom from the moment he arrives, Mr Juarez is never unethical or outrageous and does not place his pupils at any adverse risk. His colleagues simply can’t identify the method to his madness, so to speak, and do not appreciate that he gets to employ his own teaching style instead of blindly following the process they all settle for.

Radical is to be applauded for deservedly celebrating the one in very few who made such a positive difference to more than a few. 

Radical is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from May 23rd.

Moviedoc thanks Madman for the invitation to the screening of this film and for providing a screener link to watch and review this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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