Radical movie storyline. Who will the sixth grade students at Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary in Matamoros become? They are among the worst performing students in Mexico, the world they know is one of violence 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 to try something different. There’s just one problem: Sergio (played by an amazing Eugenio Derbez) has no idea what he’s doing.
Radical is a 2023 Mexican drama film directed by Christopher Zalla and co-written by Zalla and Joshua Davis. The film stars Eugenio Derbez who is considered one of Mexico’s best known actors as the teacher Sergio Juarez.
The movie, which is Zalla’s second directorial feature film for theatrical release, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. There the picture landed the “Festival favorite” award chosen by the audience. Zalla co-wrote the screenplay with Joshua Davis based on Davis’ 2013 WIRED magazine cover story.
Film Review for Radical
There isn’t much to dislike about writer / director Christopher Zalla‘s “Radical,” an easy-to-love, feel-good film that has a massive amount of charm and a universal appeal. Based on an incredible true story, this inspirational tale of hard work, redemption, and triumph over adversity is a real charmer from start to finish.
The sixth grade students at Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary in Matamoros, Mexico are among the worst performing students in the entire country. Living around a great deal of poverty, cartel violence, and general hardship, it seems from the get-go as if they’re destined to fail.
After enduring classes with adults that are dismissive and discouraging, and educators who seem to care more about discipline than actually teaching, the students are thrown for a loop when the eccentric Mr. Juarez (Eugenio Derbez) breathes new life and an unexpected excitement into their classroom. With this radical approach to learning, the kids begin to feel not only valued and empowered, but new curiosities are developed and fostered. What happens next is absolute magic, both in the lives of the children and their teacher.
The story of a wacky, unconventional teacher who inspires stubborn, disadvantaged students to succeed and excel isn’t anything new. It’s a great story that’s been done before on screen, but Zalla’s version is a lot of fun. Much of the film’s success be credited to the cast, with great actors and characters that are equally easy to fall in love with. And let’s be honest here: what film hasn’t benefited greatly from Derbez’s potent chemistry alone?
The film grows overly melodramatic as it nears its conclusion, but mostly stays positive. The story provides a constant reminder how important it is to foster a natural curiosity in children by striving to make learning fun. It tugs on the heartstrings with a familiar refrain, but as a film that is engineered to have a broad, popular appeal, it manipulates emotions by design. Despite a couple of minor stumbles, “Radical” is as crowd-pleasing as it gets.
Radical (2023)
Directed by: Christopher Zalla
Starring: Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Haddad, Jennifer Trejo, Mia Fernanda Soli, Danilo Guardiola, Gilberto Barraza, Victor Estrada, Manuel Márquez, Christian González, Andrea Nicole
Screenplay by: Christopher Zalla, Joshua Davis
Production Design by: Juan Santiso
Cinematography by: Mateo London
Film Editing by: Eugenio Richer
Costume Design by: Lupita Peckinpah
Art Direction by: Berenice Galvan Caballero
Music by: Pascual Reyes, Juan Pablo Villa
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: IFC Films
Release Date: January 19, 2023 (Sundance), November 3, 2023 (United States)
Visits: 25
