It’s described as a “punishment college”. José Urbina López Elementary, within the metropolis of Matamoros, within the cartel-ravaged border nation of north-eastern Mexico, is likely one of the poorest performing academic institutions within the nation. The battle-weary workers contemplate it a win if greater than half of the sixth graders simply present as much as class. Then a brand new instructor joins the college and turns the drained, rote-learned routine upside-down – actually. The youngsters arrive to find that Mr Juárez (Eugenio Derbez), or Sergio, as he prefers to be referred to as, has upended the tables and turned them into lifeboats within the shark-infested waters of the classroom. The youngsters are initially nonplussed, however steadily Sergio’s infectious enthusiasm and unorthodox strategies begin to spark imaginations and unlock potential.
It’s a premise that might neatly slot into any variety of “inspirational instructor” motion pictures, from the Hilary Swank-starring Freedom Writers to the OG of the style, To Sir, With Love. However this Spanish-language crowdpleaser, which relies on a real story, manages to breathe contemporary life into this most hackneyed of genres, even because it embraces a few of its hoariest of cliches: Carl Orff’s Gassenhauer, the go-to musical accompaniment for joyous, transformative moments of enlightenment, options on the soundtrack. However by some means, it really works.
Largely that is due to the performances. Derbez may be very likable, if slightly too vulnerable to moments of moist-eyed pathos, however the younger actors are phenomenal – specifically Jennifer Trejo as Paloma, the litter-picker with a genius IQ, and Danilo Guardiola as Nico, the category clown within the clutches of the cartel.
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