Radical

Radical

In a Mexican border town plagued by neglect, corruption, and violence, a frustrated teacher tries a radical new method to break through his students’ apathy and unlock their curiosity, their potential… and maybe even their genius.

  • Released: 2023-01-19
  • Runtime: 127 minutes
  • Genre: Drama
  • Stars: Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Haddad, Gilberto Barraza, Enoc Leaño, Kaarlo Isaacs Barria, Margarita Chavarría, Claudia Fuentes Medina, Libia Regalado, Rocío Canseco, Librada Elois, Sergio Iván Juárez Correa
  • Director: Christopher Zalla
 Comments
  • OnlyGrit - 2 June 2024
    Movie's POTENTIAL: Cringeworthy entertainment
    When children talk like adults, make analogies even adults cannot conceive, dress in clean clothes while living in extreme poverty, and most importantly, all of a sudden shine as extraordinary, what you get is cringeworthy drama and that's just what Radical is.

    The pace is on the slower side, acting is decent, cinematography is pretty good, direction is equally good, but dialogues are way too heavy for kids.

    The movie tries to make a point that every child, no matter where they are, have potential to do great things. It's a wonderful conceptually, but the world doesn't work that way.

    The movie does everything that is unrealistic and that's what makes it a bit difficult to stomach.

    If you're looking for a movie to watch with your family, you surely can put on Radical. Some might actually enjoy the unrealistic aspect of the movie.
  • MehdiTaba - 3 February 2024
    One of my top 10 films of 2023!
    Such a great film. One of my top 10 films of 2023!

    This is a film that reminds us how much useless and inefficient our educational system is, especially in undeveloped countries like Mexico.

    But it's not the whole picture that this film is trying to paint. It's about kids' future, progress, human conditions, poverty, neglect, corruption, different approaches to modern education, and many more very important issues that every one of us must try not to overlook.

    Christopher Zalla did a very good job on this film.

    Christopher Zalla wrote this screenplay based on the 2013 Wired article, "A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses" by Joshua Davis. And this story is based on a real story.

    To me the real weak point of this film was its cinematography, additional to that, there were some scenes and plot points that weren't excellently well done and cooked.

    Our rusty educational system needs a sheer update that it may can be seen as "Radical" to some reactionary and traditional people. And it's the reason that they named the film as such.

    Such films can help building a better future, a robust, sustainable and progressive future.

    Eugenio Derbez put a lot of himself on this film, I suppose he had a firm belief in the film's message.

    It also ends with a powerful quote from Albert Einstein which sums the whole story up, stunningly.

    7.7/10.
  • halilmejia - 30 October 2023
    I DID NOT EXPECT FOR THIS TO BE A TEARJERKER
    I just saw this Film at AMC palm 24 Early Access here in the USA, and it was Funny, Interesting, Intelligent and Heartbreaking. This film is based on a the true story in Mexico. This film almost reminds me of Freedom Writers directed by Richard LaGravenese, released in 2007.

    Ever since the Sundance Film Festival acknowledged this film I was very interested knowing Eugenio Dernez was in it. I saw his film "Instructions not Included" 2013, and also "La Familia Peluche" which was a Sitcom in Mexico which had a 10 year run time and he made me feel so Nostalgic to see him again in the Big Screen.

    To the OSCARS, Consider this a Candidate for Best Foreign Language Film and a Candidate for Eugenio Dernez as Best Actor!