Having spent most of my career working with young people who face a lot of challenges, if you were picking a movie to speak to my soul, Radical is it. Tender but also terribly troubling, Radical is a clarion call that the needs of our young people must be met with compassion and innovation.

 

Sixth grade students at Jose Urbina Lopez Elementary are among the worst performing students in Mexico, with their world one of violence and hardship, not possibility. It might seem like a dead end, but it's the perfect place for new teacher Sergio Juarez to try something different.

 

Based on a true story, Radical is a collective of individuals, both teachers and students, coming together in one grand, sweeping narrative. And the filmmakers here do a stunning job of weaving all these stories together, giving each character space to breathe and to grow. 

 

But what is so arresting about Radical isn’t that it’s some stirring film that gives you the happy, Hollywood ending, where all the students triumph. Life just isn’t like that. 

 

Some incredibly gifted students are found through all of this, and education, which is the life blood of transformational change not just for the individual but also the community, improves the lives of many. 

 

But there are still those who suffer and fall between the cracks. Radical doesn’t sugar coat this at all. There is a reason for cautious hope, Radical whispers, but we must do all we can, as long as we can to empower all young people through kindness and not through boot camps. 

 

Tender but also terribly troubling, Radical is a clarion call that the needs of our young people need must be met with compassion and innovation.