Matamoros, on the Rio Grande border across from Texas, is known for its year-round subtropical climate, deep-water seaport, Hispanic culture and crossing point for cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, weapons and human trafficking. The entire town is at-risk and sixth grade is often the year students decide whether they will continue with school or join a cartel ready to “hire.”
When a teacher at the local school has a baby and decides to be a stay-at-home-mom, a position must be immediately filled. Sergio Juarez Correa, called Mr. Juarez (wonderfully played by Eugenio Derbez), is hired. He’s taught before and knows the challenge – unmotivated, oppressed, defeated students.
A gigantic garbage dump smell overpowers the school and the town. Poverty is so great that children are needed to help take care of their youngers and begin paid work as soon as they can. The sixth grade at the school has amongst the lowest national test scores in Mexico. Juarez wants to experiment and convinces the director of the school that he knows a good method and that they have nothing to lose.
Uniquely, the screenplay for “Radical” was based on an article published in the Business section of Wired: “A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses” by Joshua Davis, Oct. 15, 2013. Davis describes the innovative approach by Juarez, referring back to Juarez’s study of Sugata Mitra, an education professor in the UK whose methods had brought about surprising success in India.
Variations of Mitra’s method, through time, have been described similarly as The Socratic Method, The Discovery Method and The Experience Method. Students are in charge of their own learning. They are questioned rather than told. They are either guided or left alone to figure a problem out. In Mitra’s case, he initially put a computer in a “hole in the wall” in a slum. On their own, the kids experimented and learned how to use it.
Juarez tries something similar. He runs a crisis simulation. Piled desks and chairs are lifeboats and the floor is water. He tells them, “Each boat can only hold the same number of passengers. If any boat has more passengers than the others it will sink. There are 23 of us here and only six boats. Figure it out. Ready? Let’s go!”
“Radical” won the 2023 Sundance’s Festival Favorite Award. It is an inspiring film to watch and reiterates the educational importance of self-image and belief in the human potential.
Credits
Director: Christopher Zalla
Screenplay: Christopher Zalla
Based on “A Radical Way of Unleashing a Generation of Geniuses” by Joshua Davis, Oct. 15, 2013. Wired.
Collaborating Writer: Laura Guadalupe
Producers: Ben Odell, Eugenio Derbez, and Joshua Davis
Cast: Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Haddad, Jennifer Trejo, Mía Fernanda Solís, and Danilo Guardiola.
Cinematography: Mateo Londono
Editing: Eugenio Richer
Music: Pascual Reyes and Juan Pablo Villa
Original Song: “El Saber” — music & lyrics by Gaby Moreno and performed by Gaby Moreno
Release: Oct. 20, 2023 (Mexico) and Nov. 3, 2023 (US limited)
Country of Origin: Mexico
Official website and how to see: https://www.radical.movie/
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