M, 126 minutes
3 Stars
Review by © Jane Freebury
Among the vignettes of daily life in a Mexican city that open this film, some are mundane while others are telling. In one of these short scenes, a girl picks her way across a vast field of trash, sifting as she goes. In another, a trio of children stops by the gate of a women’s prison to send a greeting to their mother before continuing the rest of the way to school.
The vignette that is most striking was captured in the half-light of evening on the nearby coast the day before. A young boy pushing a wheelchair with an elderly woman aboard is shuffled out of the path of a utility with rowdy men aboard. Two men stumbled in chains behind it as it picked its way across the dunes.
Welcome to Matamoros, a city by the sea. It helps to know, with a quick google before we head on in for the action, that it sits slap-bang on the US-Mexico border.
Although set in a dangerous region infamous for its vicious gang-related crimes, Radical is about a problem that is far more relatable and universal. How to get kids motivated to learn. One of the scary statistics that the principal of Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary, Chucho (Daniel Haddad) has is to remind his staff to lift their game. Half of their sixth graders will leave school for good. Perhaps there is something missing in the mantra of silence+obedience+discipline=learning.
In a school slap-bang on the border, half the sixth graders will leave for good
It’s the start of a new term, yet the staff already look dispirited. I may have been reading too much into their expressions, but we do learn that the school is poorly equipped and has a dismal academic record. Why would students need to familiarise themselves with internet research when the school library has books?
Flocks of animated students entering the school grounds, on the other hand, are looking fresh and lively in their crisp, white shirts. An ironed and spotless shirt speaks volumes.
There is a small change this term, Chuco announces, as he opens trays of pastries to share. The replacement teacher, Mr Juarez, is a last-minute appointment, and they will have to make do with whoever turns up. No one in this sleepy, satisficing school can possibly anticipate how Juarez is about to shake things up.
The character of Juarez is in the hands of popular Mexican actor, Eugenio Derbez, who Spanish-speaking audiences are very familiar with. Derbez is a major comedy star and a director of Spanish-language film and television, who has also appeared in Hollywood productions like Shrek franchise (voicing the donkey) and How to Be a Latin Lover.
His unconventional and dynamic teaching methods are the best fun
Juarez doesn’t bother with the usual formalities. The new teacher has gone straight to class instead, preparing to ambush his new sixth formers with his enthusiasm and love of subject. Science and philosophy will prove special favourites.
Nowhere to be seen during these collegiate introductions, he is upending desks in his new classroom, with the plan of introducing his class to the laws of flotation. The scenes of his unconventional, dynamic teaching methods are the best fun. Learning new formulae like the equation for density is a breeze when Juarez shows the way with an approach he freely admits to seeing one day on YouTube. And what do you know, the real teacher who is the star of this true-to-life story from 2011-12, Sergio Juarez, is still working at the same school.
Radical, written and directed by Christopher Zalla, is inspired by an article published in Wired magazine in 2013 with the title ‘A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses’. It drew attention to the great potential for teaching methods that unlocked students’ creativity in learning.
Juarez may not cover the entire curriculum or follow the usual approach to prepare for testing, but he is proud to think that he has at least taught his students to think creatively. How to think and problem-solve scientifically, how to approach moral dilemmas, and strategies for working out life problems.
A new recruit to the pantheon of the best onscreen teacher characters, Juarez joins some esteemed company played by the late Robin Williams, by Denzel Washington and others. The film that celebrates him and his lucky students takes few risks in its story-telling, but it has its heart in exactly the right place.
First published in the Canberra Times on 25 May 2024. Jane’s reviews are also published on Rotten Tomatoes