What's the movie about?
Mexico, 2011. Against the backdrop of poverty and devastation, teacher Sergio (Eugenio Derbez) is trying a radically new method of teaching in primary school.
Opinion
Despite the resounding title, this action-based film offers nothing revolutionary, as its pedagogical ideas are no different from, for example, those described in the bestsellers of Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish (who are already, for a moment, 50 years old). Another thing is that so clearly and clearly depict it on the screen, few people managed. The viewer will immediately begin to play guessing, fixing similarities with recognized classics, such as “Teacher, with Love” or “Society of Dead Poets” – Sergio’s teaching methods are equally atypical, and in addition contrast with the harsh Mexican realities.
But children all over the world are alike: they don’t like routine, but are generally curious and constantly looking for approval. Sergio gives them this -- instead of boring routines and evaluations, he sparks the interest and imagination of children by communicating with them on an equal footing and engaging them in game-based problem solving. So the desks turn into lifeboats, and the students themselves into passengers of a sinking ship, and on the example of such activity children learn the basics of the universe, because in trying to distribute 23 passengers in six small lifeboats they are faced with mathematics (How to save people without capsizing the boats), and physics (Why do boats swim?), and sociology (And how did it happen that the cruise allowed more passengers than the boats can accommodate?).
Like the unusual method of Sergio, the film also takes some time to start working effectively, but about the middle is already attached to the characters, and the plot accelerates to the level of quality Hollywood drama (albeit with its inherent cliché and pathos). Radical is an infrequent example of a useful film that clearly shows how to talk so that children listen. And how do you listen to children talk?