Best movie of this year hands down!

Excellent but underrated film

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Despite the massive hurdles on his way to lead the pathetic students into the right track, the teacher, Mr. Escalante manages to reinvigorate the sense of esteem in them by teaching the hard subject of AP calculus, working day-in, day-out.The setting on which the plot is mainly based is Eastern Los Angeles Garfield High School, a place packed with students from the poor, deprived Hispanic minority led by a tough teacher who has no intention of backing down.Even at the opening, the audience begins to be fed with semiotic elements which signify the issue of stratification and deprivation in Los Angeles. "We're not a minority", that's one piece of large graffiti on a wall in a neighborhood filled with other elements of poverty, giving the initial hint to the viewer about the depiction of the plight and misery of a minority in the movie.The teacher is shown behind the roll as he cruises across the neighborhood, setting his eyes on elements of the lower-class life: a group of Latino construction workers on the back of a van, a couple of street vendors and a band of street performers crossing the road as they carry their instruments.Escalante is thrust into a class of extremely unruly children, who don't even bother stand up when he steps in the classroom. Interestingly, however, that is no shock to the teacher, as he seems to know very well how to handle them without resorting to violence while remaining completely coolheaded.Upon the first encounter, one students asks him if they can discuss "sex" in the class. "We could set sex for homework," Escalante quickly replies in a sarcastic manner, giving the students an impression of sharpness and biting humor.To highlight one major component of the Latinos' plight, the director chooses to focus upon the educational system and seeks to convey facts to the audience about how deep the social stratification and wide the gaps are in the American society when it comes to the right to equal education and opportunities.Garfield High School, indeed, the director implies, is an embodiment of decades-long discrimination against the Latino community, whose children are the primary target of injustice. But Escalante is there just to fight that up to the end. Of Hispanic origin himself, he seems to have deeply realized the graveness of the matter, which is why he puts the bar higher, much beyond the apparent capabilities of his students.The climax of the discrimination comes after the educational inspectors rule that the calculus test be rejected on the assumption that the participants had actually cheated in the exam, showing just how profound is the distrust in minorities even among the academics and the educated, who are supposed to put aside those biased notions and offer everyone the chance to move up the social ladder.Ironically enough, the director chooses the two inspectors from minorities, one African American, the other a Latino himself, to suggest that even the educated members of the minority groups are so strongly affected by the white supremacy, never realizing that what they do is indeed representing the predominant view that Hispanic children are inherently incapable."If it was Beverly Hills High School, they wouldn't have sent you to investigate," Escalante tells the inspectors, objecting to the mainstream attitude in the educational system. Escalante believes that if the same scores had been achieved by children from Beverley Hills, the system would have never questioned the results, because they are basically considered supreme and talented.The calculus test, from Escalante's viewpoint is a chance for the system to regain the trust of the Hispanic students, but the disapproval from the authorities makes that just a failure, disappointing the students and leaving them in a state of frustration after a months-long hard battle they fought to prove their aptitude.Still, the unyielding teacher rises again, taking the hands of the worn-out students and helping them to stand up for the cause once more. He calls them true dreamers. "Tomorrow you'll prove you're the champs," he tells them with vigor, valor and enthusiasm ahead of the second test.As the title suggests, the movie is the struggle of a man who never backs down in the face of hardships and obstacles, and sticks to his true mission of delivering the subject he's expected to convey to his students. But that's not the only thing he teaches them. The students learn calculus plus perseverance, something which has been missing in their lives by that time, due to the injustice imposed upon them.The dialog and characterization in the movie are both simple. There are no complicated characters and the language is that of the everyday life of a group of Latino students. To an extent, however, the plot is unpredictable, as one keeps wondering what will happen next, especially after the results of the first AP calculus tests are rejected by the Educational Testing Service.The music and the editing are smooth, with the costume and makeup design completely fitting the style of the era: loose shirts, young adults with newly grown mustache, and girls with hair-style representing the late 1970s. Together, those elements help with the viewer's full understanding of the theme and the context in which the story has developed.The closing scene of the movie comes as Escalante learns about the approval of the second test from the authorities. As he tries to overcome his over-excitement about the news, with a smile on his face, he leaves the principal's office. The camera shows him from behind as he walks away in the corridor, as if he's done with a tremendous mission and is determined to just embark on another journey to continue carrying the huge task on his shoulders somewhere else.

Stand and Deliver (1988) Genre: Drama Director: Ramon MenendezScreenwriter: Ramon Menendez, Tom Musca Music: Craig Safan Main actors: Edward James Olmos: Jaime Escalante Will Gotay: PanchoIngrid Ulio: Lupe Karla Montana: Claudio Camejo Vanessa Marquez: Ana Delgado Lou Diamond Phillips: Angel Guzman Synopsis:"Stand and Deliver" tells the story of a dedicated and passionate mathematics teacher who takes a class of mostly poor and ignorant students in a tough East LA high school in 1982 and transforms them in less than a year into professionals who have learned so much that 18 of them are able to pass a tough calculus exam. The exam is so hard that only 2 percent of students nationwide can pass it, and surprisingly, all the students of the class succeed to do this task. Jaime Escalante leaves a better paying job in business to teach at a very struggling school with a largely Hispanic student body, and puts in very long hours and commits his whole being to improving a school that needs him so much. Yet In addition to an unmotivated and undisciplined class, he also has to deal with parents reluctant to let their children pursue higher education. Then he starts teaching, using examples out of the everyday lives of his students, making them solve problems for themselves, claiming that the punishment for not working hard in class is to be kept out of the class. The students themselves are amazed that this strategy works and more amazed to find that they're expected to do 30 hours of homework a week and come in on Saturday mornings for extra classes. Escalante and his students also arrive early before school for special sessions. The students gradually come to realize that the only way they can escape their poverty- stricken situations is to improve intellectually. As a result, the class' academic achievements improve dramatically. Taking the AP Calculus exam in the spring of their senior year, these students are overjoyed to finish a wonderful year. After receiving their scores, they are so happy to find that they have all passed, something done by few in the state.Later that summer, a shocking accusation is made. The Educational Testing Service calls into question the validity of their scores when it is discovered that similarities between errors is too high. Outraged by this accusation, Escalante feels that the racial and economic status of the students has caused the ETS to doubt their intelligence. In order to prove their abilities to everyone, the students agree to take the test again at the end of the summer. With only a day to prepare, there is high stress to show that they can do what they are supposed to do. In the end, they all pass the exam again, showing they deserve their achievements.Main Characters: Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos): A hardworking Bolivian IT professional and then a math teacher who prepares his students for the AP Calculus test. He brings his students from doing introductory math to algebra in the first school year. Then he decides to teach them calculus. Pancho (Will Gotay): A student who experiences much difficulty with math because of his limited study skills.Lupe (Ingrid Ulio) : A student who must take care of her mother's children while also having difficulty with school work. She refuses to be Pancho's girlfriend. Claudia Camejo (Karla Montana): The beauty of the class. Everyone wants to be with her, and her life is constantly made fun of by Mr. Escalante. She takes the calculus classes to prove that, unlike her mother, she can depend on her own skills. Ana Delgado (Vanessa Marquez) : A shy, quiet girl attending Garfield High School who excels at math. She intends to go to college and become a doctor, but is discouraged by her father, who wants her to support his restaurant. Angel Guzman (Lou Diamond Phillips): A troublesome, but brilliant, boy who must help his grandmother, because he does not live with his parents. He struggles with math and has difficulty studying and hanging out with his delinquent friends. He wants to learn but does not want his peers to know that he wants to learn. Conclusion: The American public school system could be improved in many places. Too often their public schools are places where instead of learning how to respect others and learn to think, young adults learn how to victimize others (or living in fear) and endure the fact that being smart isn't' desirable. Garfield High School is one of these schools. But was Jaime Escalante a true improvement in this system or a model of change? Or was he just one of a kind? Was he an example of how change happens in public schools? Or was he an example for showing why education will not improve, despite the best efforts of the best teachers? Keeping in mind the questions asked above, there comes other more difficult ones to answer. Are there thousands of charismatic, highly-skilled, well trained, and experienced school teachers ready to imitate Escalante in similar conditions? Are there teachers who are willing to work 60 hours a week to give their all with study sessions before school and visit student's homes? Or are they able to give and work to the point of excluding their own selves and families and to the point of ignoring their health? I wonder if holding up Jaime Escalante as the ideal teacher poses more problems than rewards. Not every teacher can be or is expected to be charismatic and passionate, expertly trained in their subject, culturally sensitive and knowledgeable, with infinite patience and compassion. Dadkhah

A high school computer science teacher takes a bunch of dropout students and gets them to take and pass the AP Calculus. That is a general theme, a most-duplicated story. But what makes this a standout movie is the originality and factuality of the film. The movie is based on fact, a true story- the true life of Jaime Escalante, an East Loa Angeles man who has left a better job to become a teacher, to prove he can be influential on the life of some kids in a society which prefers to ignore them because it's easier and more logical to lose faith in a group of losers than to spend time or money to make them something worthy in their lives.Jaime is a not a typical teacher; he does not confront his students on the first day, when they ignore him, disobey him, and even threaten him. He knows his class, their background, and reasons of their rebellion. He has set out to change their destiny. While teaching calculus, he uses examples of their everyday life- a life dominated by drugs and poverty for most of them.The everyday life of the kids in the movie is really important for us, the viewers, because we are taken to a journey to watch their lives and efforts to change, but the screenplay is not as successful in showing us that aspect as it is in elaborating the classroom atmosphere. We are not introduced to the life of most of the students. The life of those whose we see is not detailed either. We know why one of them doesn't have enough time to study because of his mother, why the other one's father doesn't let her continue her education because she needs to help in the family business; but that is the extent to which the story goes in showing the real problems of the kids we're watching. There is another story which is just making time; the story of the two students seeing each other.The students try, really hard, go to class even on Saturday, and pass the exam. But they are accused of cheating. We know they haven't done it. They are accused of cheating based on the fact they have all answered the same question incorrectly, but one of the main problems in the screenplay which is pretty much disturbing is the fact that we are not shown or told how they have done that, while we are sure that they have never cheated. There is one possibility which of course is not tested in the movie: they have all answered the same question incorrectly because their teacher has taught them wrong. There is a scene where the teacher asserts on an equation to be wrong but the students believe he is wrong. But we never know if they have made the same mistake or not. The movie is set in Los Angeles during the 80s. It is written, directed, and played by Latinos. In December 2011, Stand and Deliver was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. The Registry said the film was "one of the most popular of a new wave of narrative feature films produced in the 1980s by Latino filmmakers" and that it "celebrates in a direct, approachable, and impactful way, values of self-betterment through hard work and power through knowledge."

This great movie is a portrayal of the true story of Jaime Escalante, a devoted man who left his high paying job to help Hispanic teenagers who live in the poor side of east LA find and reach their goals. Upon arriving he soon realizes that not only school doesn't provide any modern teaching facilities for their students, the teachers there don't believe in their pupils as well. They think that the students there are bunch of "losers" or "untouchables" who will have no future besides working in a fast- food. Escalante sets out to prove to the teachers that they are dead wrong and to prove both to his students and himself that they can , they only need to be shown how. "It's not that they're stupid, it's just they don't know anything." To demonstrate his abilities he starts to make up a personality for himself, not long after he wins over all the students, each one in a unique way . He truly knows how to connect with each one of them. His ability to transform even the most troublesome student _Pancho_ to a dedicated learner is actually nothing short of a phenomena. Throughout the first year Escalante learns that his students are far more capable than what he thought they might be so he sets out a new goal: calculus AP test.Despite all the disbelief and skepticism that his colleagues have he went ahead and designed an intense math program which required all those "loser" and "untouchable" students to even take summer classes. In the spring of their senior year, Escalante's students take the AP test and they all pass with flying colors, which caused The Educational Testing Service to question the validity of their results. Escalante believed that this is so because of the social and economic statues of his students so he made the Educational testing service committee agree to retake the test, in the end of the summer with only one day to prepare students retake the test and passed even better than the first time to prove their mathematical abilities to the school, ETS, the nation and more than anything else to themselves. And to show the power of belief. To show what a man can do if someone truly believed in him. His students, despite all odds truly "stand and deliver" what he always believed in them. For me this movie is the story of a man who is willing to take the extra mile. One man who is willing to go through all the harshness and struggle to try to improve people's life. Story of a math teacher who so selflessly loves his students." these people expand their lives with greater struggles, but also greater rewards. Usually their accomplishments, their positive contributions, never make it to the public eye; but occasionally, someone is so impressed that a movie is made."(Ross Anthony)Edward James Olmos plays the role of Mr. Escalante in this movie which earned him nomination for an academy award that year. He successfully played the role of though yet loving teacher who despite all odds believes in his pupils. But to understand his play one should dig deeper. We have to pay vary close attention to all his gestures to all his dialogues and the way he talks, the way he articulates Hispanic accents even the way he looks at different type of people.Olmos play the role of a though teacher who knows when to use humor and when to take control of the class through direct confrontation by belittling the bully. When confronting pancho he doesn't threat him, he simply uses humor and let his other classmates to laugh at him as the worst punishment in the class . He knows he audience and connects with them one by one, from hugging and STD jokes to threatening to cut fingers of the "wannabe gang members".It is obvious that Olmos worked really hard to take into this kind of personality portraying even the slightest personal traits. he truly delivers a perfect play. Mottos in this movie are not in the surroundings but in his personality traits. For example the way he tuck four fingers of his right hand into his pants and how proudly he walks afterwards. Or the way he pronounces "ganas" meaning desire to accomplish something great. Or the way he emphasizes in the importance of math in front of his student. They are all part of his make. Believe play act. In the scene that he comes to class like a butcher one might think this is part of his unethical method of teaching but throughout the story it will be learnt that this is just of his personality. All these element in the movie come together to make it an inspirational and powerful story throughout. The story wasn't one of unpredictable type , from the beginning of the second half it was obvious what is about to happen but we have to keep in mind that this was a real story more than a drama. So don't look for element of surprise , just sit back and be inspired. "Jaime A. Escalante: You're like a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there!"