A teacher from out of town throws away the rule book when he takes a job at Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary School in Matamoros, a Mexican border city so close to America its residents can see Texas. Poverty, crime and corruption are rife. Not long after the school installed a computer lab, the computers were stolen. Police inspect cars for bombs on the morning commute. Paloma, a sixth grader at the school, lives at the dump with her dad, which they scour for anything to sell to local buyers. Her dad is shortchanged by merchants who explain what each item is worth, only to lie about what the sale adds up to. His education, like so many in the city, never played a factor in his life.
When Sergio Juárez Correa takes over Paloma’s class, lesson plans go out the window. Instead of teaching to the test, he upturns every desk, pretends they are lifeboats, and challenges the class to figure out how to make everyone fit on board. Soon, they are asking questions about buoyancy. Later, they turn to philosophy and ethics, debating who should be saved from a sinking ship when space on the lifeboats is limited. By going off-book, Sergio lets the kids’ curiosity guide their lessons.
Based on a 2013 Wired article, Christopher Zalla’s RADICAL is the true story of an unconventional teacher driven to break the cycle of wasted potential in a city where drug cartels recruit 12-year-olds. Although there is nothing radical about its nature as a film – it is proudly sentimental – it is a remarkably affecting tale of almost delusional perseverance against unimaginable odds.
It is easy to root for Mexican superstar Eugenio Derbez as Sergio. He places no stock in classroom authoritarianism and embraces democratic participation, encouraging the kids to speak up and get things wrong. More important than passing tests is discovering how to learn, which he says comes from making mistakes. For the first time in their young lives, instead of being berated for their failings, they are commended for their attempts.
While often rousing and even more regularly funny, there is also real hardship here. One young student is forced to be a carer for her siblings, while another is torn between joining a gang and continuing his studies. There is a political point being made that access to greater education alone is not enough to turn someone’s fortunes around. When Sergio’s mask of optimism slips, it is because of the tragedies outside the classroom, where he and the school have no influence.
As one pupil devours the works of philosopher John Stuart Mill, the film begins to introduce profound questions of its own, such as whether inspiring impoverished students will help them socially mobilise or will only lead to greater disappointment when the cycle refuses to break. Is Sergio irresponsibly filling their heads with flights of fancy, or can his class find better lives? He has a kindred spirit in headmaster Chucho, who is initially dumbfounded by Sergio’s approach but comes round to his way of prioritising the children over box-ticking exercises. Together, they do what they can to counterbalance the pupils’ turbulent home lives and dare to imagine a future for them that is different from what their current lots in life would suggest is in store.
RADICAL won Sundance’s Festival Favourite Award, no doubt for its belief in our ability to improve the world around us and its quiet acts of resistance towards the forces that try to keep destitute people in their place. The unashamedly heartfelt actions of a radical educator deserve an equally heartfelt film, and RADICAL is top of the class.