Radical

If there’s one thing the movies have taught us, it's that the world loves the tale of an inspirational teacher who is working against the odds. From The School Of Rock to Dead Poets Society and Dangerous Minds, they’re an almost constant part of the school curriculum - and if the kids are from a disadvantaged background of some sort or another then that gains extra points with producers. There’s a reason why formulas work and this one is marked: Caution, may make you cry.

Radical is the new kid in this class - and it comes with a Mexican twist. Christopher Zalla’s based-on-a-true–story cockle-warmer was one of this year’s Day One films at Sundance and saw the writer/director return to the festival after his Padre Nuestro (later renamed Sangre De Mi Sangre) won the Grand Jury Prize back in 2007.

Those who caught Belfast inspirational teacher documentary Young Plato may also see a kindred spirit in action - although in a very different socioeconomic setting - as Sergio Juarez Correa (Eugenio Derbez) decides that his work with a group of 12-year-old school kids is going to be anything but textbook. On the first day, he upturns all the classroom tables and turns them into “lifeboats”, dragging the children into a role play situation in which they need to practise maths skills to work out how to save the most people.

This is just the start of a lesson plan that is designed to engage the kids with ideas, philosophy and critical thinking. Sergio’s plans are met with a general air of disdain from the rest of the school, although the worn down headmaster Chucho (Daniel Haddad) becomes an increasing ally as he gradually regrows his spine and sense of possibility.

The town of Matamoros means these kids are up against it. Zalla impressively interweaves some of their stories early on, so that we see poverty is an ever-present and the gang life the main job many graduate into. Among them are Paloma (Jennifer Trejo), a maths whizz who lives by the municipal dump with her ailing dad but who dreams of being an astronaut and class joker Nico (Danilo Guardiola), whose brother is in tight with the local thugs and already using him as mule. We also see the life of young Lupe (Mía Fernanda Solis) in some detail, as she takes on the mum role for her siblings while her mum does night shifts. Signs of crime and deprivation are noticeable but kept to the fringes, which helps to ensure this doesn't just become an excercise in poverty porn.

Derbez puts in an open performance in the central role and the children respond in kind, making for an enjoyable crowdpleaser no matter how familiar some of the elements are. In fact, it’s the director who threatens the air of naturalism at key moments by deciding to layer on the melodrama too thick. The scoring also becomes increasingly strident, which is simply unnecessary in the face of these unfussy and heartfelt performances.

Zalla deserves credit for retaining an element of realism that suggests being bright and engaged doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll triumph if the societal cards are stacked against you, although he ultimately leans into the positives as you might expect. You might not learn anything new about this sort of drama by watching this but it passes the tearjerk test with flying colours.