Radical
A teacher in a Mexican border town attempts to inspire his students against a backdrop of apathy, corruption and violence.
Photo by Mateo Londono, Image courtesy of Altitude Film Distributors
We have here a film set in the Mexican border town of Matamoros which tells of the impact of a new teacher, Sergio Juárez Correa (Eugenio Derbez), who brings a new approach to bear when taking up a post in the town’s José Urbina López elementary school. It happened in 2011 and two years later Joshua Davis wrote an article about it. In addition to linking Correa’s approach to the teaching methods advocated earlier by Sugata Mitra in New Delhi, Davis celebrated the outstanding success of one of Correa’s pupils, Paloma Noyola Bueno. That article has now become the basis of this new film in which Davis is himself involved as a co-producer while Christopher Zalla is both the writer and director.
That article which was entitled ‘A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses’ was a plea to reconsider traditional educational methods that have largely been unchanged for so long in favour of a more modern approach, one that welcomes technology but is based on finding ways to encourage independent thinking among the students. If that is a serious theme, so too is a strong but subsidiary issue present in the film, the threat to youngsters growing up in poverty in towns like Matamoros where cartels are on the lookout to involve them in their drug trade.
Given that background Radical might have been a grimy realistic tale in which the triumph of Paloma (Jennifer Trejo) is seen to be achieved against the odds. That approach is one which I have to acknowledge would have been welcomed by me. However, instead of opting for that mode, Zalla has given us a film that is unashamedly popular in tone and, whatever my own preferences, I am delighted to acknowledge that he has brought it off with an absolute sureness of touch. I do think, however, that the first few minutes of the film jump around a little too much as they go from location to location with characters yet to be clearly established. That apart, though, Radical is perfectly judged and will surely appeal to a wide audience who will find it both entertaining and touching (the popular element is not allowed to eclipse those serious matters that underlie this story).
Radical begins at the start of a new school term when Sergio arrives as a replacement teacher and immediately starts lessons in a most unorthodox way that takes the headmaster, Chucho (Daniel Haddad), by surprise. On entering Sergio's classroom, he is amazed to discover that the desks have deliberately been overturned by Sergio as a ploy to make them represent boats which will be a subject of discussion that will then intrigue the students. Normally it could be expected that a film depicting this kind of set-up would make the headmaster a figure totally hostile to the newcomer, but here Chucho is portrayed as a man who does not judge too quickly and who is soon won over when Sergio’s aims become clear. The casting of the film is hugely adroit in all respects but never more so than in the choice of Derbez for Sergio and Haddad for Chucho. The contrast between the two actors results in a balanced duo that is a delight and works well here because these opening scenes are presented with a light comic touch that feels larger than life. Nevertheless, the actual characterisations are sufficiently believable for the viewer to go along with the film’s chosen style and this is further confirmed by the portrayal of the students, three of whom plays significant roles. In addition to young Paloma with her exceptional skill at mathematics and her scholarship potential, we have Lupe (Mía Fernanda Solís Tapia) who has siblings to look after because her mother has to work night shifts and Nico (Danilo Guardiola). The latter is a rebel and a joker who gains from Sergio's ability to draw him out rather than reprimanding him but the boy is put under pressure when a cartel boss (Manuel Cruz Vivas) who already employs his older brother (Victor Estrada) now proves to have his eye on Nico as well.
Quite enough is going on here for the film to sustain its running time of 125 minutes. The latest stages incorporate more dramatic elements but these too are handled with a sure sense of what will work with the audience and if that includes the occasional sentimental touch it is not in this context misjudged. Overall, the tale is one that celebrates the potential that Sergio’s approach is able to develop in his students and statistics about test results attained by his class are quoted at the end of the film. Of late Hollywood has become so absorbed in film franchises that it may ignore the possibility of a one-off remake of this sub-titled film. But a while back one would have been ready to bet that a film like Radical would soon reappear in a Hollywood English-language treatment. On such occasions critics often predicted that that would happen but added that you should see the original version because it was bound to be the better one: they would certainly have said it about a foreign crowd-pleaser like Christopher Zalla’s Radical.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Haddad, Jennifer Trejo, Mía Fernanda Solís Tapia, Danilo Guardiola, Gilberto Barraza, Victor Estrada, Manuel Cruz Vivas, Manuel Márquez, Christian González, Edmundo Moñoz.
Dir Christopher Zalla, Pro Ben Odell, Eugenio Derbez and Joshua Davis, Screenplay Christopher Zalla, from an article by Joshua Davis, Ph Mateo Londoño, Pro Des Juan Santiso, Ed Eugenio Richer, Music Pascual Reeves and Juan Pablo Villa, Costumes Lupita Peckinpah.
3Pas Studios/Pantelon Films/Participant/The Lift/Epic Magazine/TelevisaUnivision-Altitude Film Distributors.
125 mins. USA/Mexico. 2023. US Rel: 3 November 2023. UK Rel: 9 August 2024. Cert. 12A.
