Radical

I don't happen to watch an abundant amount of foreign films, however when one comes my way, I am definitely pushed and encouraged to see it. One such film was "The City of God" about the ghettos of Rio de Janerio and the presumed hopelessness of its existence. When I viewed the trailer for "Radical", I simply had to see it because of its premise and its lead star, Eugenio Derbez, who was also in the brilliant foreign film, "Instructions Not Included". 

Who will the sixth grade students at Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary in Matamoros, Mexico become? They are among the worst performing students in Mexico. The world they know is one of violence, poverty 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 Correa (Eugenio Derbez) to try something different. There's just one problem: Sergio has no idea what he's doing. The director of the school, Chucho (Daniel Haddad) has more than one run in with him, only to slowly see that Sergio's approach to the students with his unorthodox methods is somehow working and he is confused immensely. Can Sergio bring out these kids' potential, or is it just a pipe dream?

Others to round out the cast are Jennifer Trejo as Paloma, Danilo Guardiola Escobar as Nico, Mia Fernanda Solis as Lupe, Gilberto Barraza as Papa Paloma, Victor Estrada as Chepe, Manuel Marquez as Enrique, Christian Gonzalez as Jaime, Xochiquetzal Martinez as Maria, Edmundo Monoz as Beto and Enoc Leano as Administrator.

This was directed with such pathos and heart by Christopher Zalla ("Blood of My Blood" '07, "Beautiful & Twisted" (TV movie) '15) plus TV and a short. This filmmaker certainly knows his way around getting his actors to emit those heartfelt emotions that is incredibly needed in a project as this. Of course, with Derbez as the teacher, a production couldn't have better casting. And with this as a team, how could this production go wrong? It was also penned well by Christopher Zalla ("Blood of My Blood" '07), based on an article by Joshua Davis. Considering that Zalla only has one other feature film to his credit, I was stunned by his ability to create this screenplay, tell this true story all the while entertaining its audience in a way that seasoned writers couldn't master. Other than a couple of very small places of choppiness--I mean very small, this script was amazing. It was a kind of a Hispanic "School Of Rock" as far as the unorthodox methods that each teacher introduced to their class. Derbez certainly was the shining star of this production. He pulled off his role of this teacher with humility, heart and humor and could possibly earn an Oscar nod. 

If you like foreign films, and more to the point, if you like films that have someone that strives to bring kids out of a dead-end existence to a place where they can thrive, this is definitely the film for you. The supporting cast were effective and the directing was spot on. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                          Rated: PG-13                                       125mins.