“Isn’t everything impossible until it’s done?”
These words in the exchange between teacher, Mr. Juarez, and principal, Chucho, reveal the heart of what the movie, Radical, allows you to embrace.
In a tough border town is an elementary school that is under-resourced. The library shelves are bare. The computer lab has not been utilized, and the staff is doing what they need to do in order to stay afloat in the educational world.
Sergio aka Mr. Juarez shifts the trajectory of the lives of a group of sixth graders with his unconventional and radical teaching methods. On the first day of school, the students walk in the classroom with desks all over the place. They engage in controversial yet relevant conversation, learn from outdoor simulations, and go the extra mile in learning and discovery.
We met a cast of peculiar and promising students in Paloma, Lupita, and Nico. Paloma has a bright future desiring to be an engineer. Her tenacity, curiosity, and creativity are groomed by Mr. Juarez’s commitment to help his students grow and learn how to think. Lupita, a nurturing and inquisitive students, asks BIG questions and ponders real world issues in a way that makes even adults think. Finally, we meet Nico, a sort of “class clown” with a good heart and humility that makes him stand out. He is indirectly caught up in an environment that was a part of the community. His ability to capture the possibility beyond the current reality is revealed but comes with a twist.
The movie progresses with some highs and lows. It ends with a newsworthy celebration, and speaks volumes to the fact that people can be more than what their environment is telling them.
If you need a boost or reset of knowing what can be despite the odds, in spite of what your surroundings tell you, and despite what you may tell yourself, it is well worth the two hour and 5 minutes to see.
To your hope in possibility!
Ashley M.
iamashleym.com 
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