A powerful work caused a lot of noise at the last Sundance festival for its focus on the importance of education in Mexico. Based on a true story, the film Radical, with Eugenio Derbez, raises challenging questions about the role of educators in the personal and professional training of children and youth. All this, of course, without losing the moving and hopeful touch.
What is it about Radical?
Videocine offers the following official synopsis:
“Who will the sixth grade students of the José Urbina López elementary school in Matamoros become? They are among the worst performing students in Mexico, the world they know is one of violence and difficulties, and an atmosphere of authoritarian discipline, not possibilities, predominates in their classrooms. It may seem like a dead end… but it’s also the perfect place for new professor Sergio Juárez to try something different. There is only one problem: Sergio has no idea what he is doing.”
Cast and production team
Radical is starring Eugenio Derbez, Daniel Haddad (All the freckles in the world) and Gilberto Barraza (The Mexican). In addition, they debut Jennifer Trejo, Mia Fernanda Solis and Danilo Guardiola.
The film is written and directed by Christopher Zalla (Our father), and the producers are Ben OdellEugenio Derbez and Joshua Davis alongside 3Pas Studios and ViX, in association with Epic Magazine and The Lift.
What can we expect from the film?
To put together the story, the well-known case of Paloma Noyola was taken as inspiration, who was a student of Sergio, and who, thanks to her aptitude for science, obtained first place in mathematics in the ENLACE test in 2012. The following year, Noyola appeared on the cover of the magazine Wired. There, journalist Joshua Davis wrote an article in which he called her “the next Steve Jobs.”
Last January, within the framework of the 45th edition of the Sundance festival, Eugenio Derbez spoke with PREMIERE Cinema about what makes the project special. The actor and producer said the following:
“What I hope is that this film changes many lives, that it also changes the way we see education in Mexico. I think this can really help children, teachers, the way we approach or question whether the traditional way of educating children is really the correct one or whether it needs to be changed. So what caught my attention about this project, more than telling you a story, is [ver] “How many changes this film can achieve in the educational system.”
From #Sundance2023, @Eugenio Derbez talks about his new film, Radical.
📸 @fabsantiagocine pic.twitter.com/WrgJP24sNv
— Cine PREMIERE (@CinePREMIERE) January 20, 2023
Radical was presented at the Sundance Film Festival at the beginning of 2023 and received the maximum
audience recognition: Favorite Film of the Festival.
When is the movie released Radicalwith Eugenio Derbez?
Radical will arrive in Mexican theaters on October 19, 2023. Subsequently, you will arrive at the catalog of the platform streaming ViX, on a date yet to be defined.
Poster
Trailer of Radicalwith Eugenio Derbez
José Roberto Landaverde I am fascinated by writing, listening, reading and commenting on everything related to cinema. I love music and I am a fan of The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac and Paramore. My favorite movies are Rocky and Back to the Future and obviously one day I will climb the “Philly Steps” and drive a DeLorean. Faithful believer that cinema is the best teleporting machine, and also that on the big screen we can all see ourselves represented.