Radical dir. Christopher Zalla (Festival Favorite Winner)

by Morgan Stone

This was the final film of our Sundance 2023, so I must apologize that this review will not be as thorough or as fully formed as the others. I watched this around 9pm after 7 films in 2 days, and by that point I was starting to becoming incredibly exhausted and overwhelmed. But alas, I persisted.

Radical tells the story of Sergio, a teacher who is placed at a middle school in a Mexican border town, and begins a radical new technique in order to teach his classroom of students. He wants the students to want to learn, for their curiosity to lead them to new information, rather than following curriculum. Naturally, some of the administration doesn't love this decision, and some drama ensues. From what I know, this is based on a true story and school called José Urbina López Primary School, and especially notable as one of his students, Paloma Noyola Bueno, who was named by Wired Magazine as the next Steve Jobs. Sergio's techniques seemingly allowed these kids to thrive and their genius to show!

Honestly, I am not a fan of inspirational teacher movies (only by my own preference), but this film does achieve what it set out to do: portray a touching story inspired by real events where a teacher allows kids to thrive. This film was the festival favorite winner for a reason, and I understand why; it is a comforting tale, and inspires the viewer to be the same - to be radical.

In terms of the film making...I don't have too much to say. Nothing too drastic stood out, either good or bad. I'm not a fan of the handheld style of filmmaking, which Zalla did employ, but I know that it can be an effective way to make the audience feel drawn into the story...as if you were there watching all the events unfold. The film was shot in a pretty muted color palette, but that did allow for the characters and relationships to really shine through. The narrative felt pretty standard for a movie of this style, but it was nice to see a relationship between teacher and principal that was quite positive. The film was incredibly well acted, and Eugenio Derbez, portraying teacher Sergio, gave a fantastic performance. So did all the child actors!

Ultimately, if you are a fan of heartwarming tales where a teacher inspires a classroom of children to love learning, I would absolutely recommend checking out Radical once it's released. 

If it is your fourth film of the day, I would not recommend watching Radical, or really any other movie. You should simply go to bed.