Freedom Writers (Widescreen Edition) by Paramount by Richard LaGravenese

Love this film so much

You must order a boom after this movie, because the book has much more to tell than movie!

One of the best movies I've ever watched! My husband and I got pretty emotional, quite a few times, throughout the movie. Definitely worth the watch!

Really enjoyed, I'd watch again. Decent soundtrack too. Only thing is it paused and pixilated twice in the film.

How many times does this story have to be told? Each time it's a true story. Each time a young teacher has to struggle to make education relevant for a group of students rejected by the system and condemned to fight some kind of war before they are old enough to take responsibility for their own lives.Way back in 1979, I bought a copy of a book called 36 Children (Penguin Education Specials) from an Anarchist bookstall in Cambridge. Herbert Kohl told that story about a class he taught in Harlem back in the early sixties. It's the same story. So is Dangerous Minds [DVD] [1996], so is Conrack and there are lots of other versions of the same story. Each time I see another version, I hope that things changed and somebody learned something but they never do do they? (I note that Amazon has Conrack listed at over 100 pounds so I guess they always fade from view. That's a shame.Teachers all over the world find themselves in the same situation as Ms G, facing a class full of kids who find themselves in an alien environment that seems to offer them nothing relevant to their lives. I love the story. It always makes me cry even though I keep hoping someone is going to find some kind of solution beyond Ivan Illyich's Deschooling Society (Open Forum) (for example). In the case of this particular version, I loved the acting, and Hilary Swank is one of my favourite actors. I also loved the writing. I just wish more people could see it..

Based on a true story about a teacher trying to teach minority kids who have been let down by the system.She manages to get the kids on side and the rest whilst predictable was uplifting to watch.For information the Holocaust survivors were real survivors and Hillary Swank took a cut in her salary to take the role.

My daughter talked me into rent this for our movie afternoon and I have to admit wasn’t keen.I thought was going to be cliche story of teacher gets unruly group of gang member students but reaches them and turns their lives around, there would be inevitable murder involving one of students and everyone lives happy ever after.Well it is all that BUT it is so so much more and I spent half film in tears 😭.I won’t give story away but way she reaches them really resonated with me and some of guest appearances are humbling.This movie is based on true story and whilst I realise it will have been hollywood up ( gosh I’m cynical 🙈) the message is still there and it’s a powerful message.Everyone should see this film and my 19yr old daughter has her first bucket list destination? A museum no less.Beautiful film with powerful storyline and even more powerful inner story.Go, go rent it, Dont think about it just do it

This true story based movie, is now one of my top ten movies of all time. It is excellently cast, performed & written. A real eye-opener & made me buy the book for my teen.

Excellent film!

Passt genau in die jetzige Zeit.Toller Film

Klasse Film für die langen Nächte

本当に素晴らしい映画で何度も何度も観ましたがどなたかにDVDを貸してそのまま…でまた観たくてもう一度手に入れました。

Freedom Writers is an inspirational film with some edge. I'm glad the writers decided not to tone down the story too much, as most of the students came from "gang" environments, and the film showcases this with some scenes of gang violence. This actually makes the journey they take together all the more powerful because most of the students shown here are kids on the verge of ending up in jail or dead.One thing that makes this movie work so well, is that the film has many powerful and touching moments in it. It isn't as formulaic in which the "big, powerful moment" only comes at the end.Freedom Writers tells a true story of young Ellen Gruwell who is in her very first year of teaching at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. She's eager and can't wait to get into the classroom. Being a teacher myself, I understand this enthusiasm. She finds herself amidst a number of Latino, African-American, and Asian students. Oh yeah, there's one caucasian student who, throughout the first half of the film, wishes he was anywhere else but there.Ellen's first attempts to teach them anything fails. She can scarcely get their attention, much less teach them anything. These are the kids who have beent thrown into classrooms. Nobody really thinks they can do anything, and nobody else really cares if they succeed or not. One teacher tells Ellen, "If you can teach them some obedience and discipline, then you will have made a tremendous accomplishment." This isn't near enough "accomplishment" for Ellen. Despite being mistreated by most of the students, Ellen has something that even the students don't have: faith. She feels it in her bones that these kids can succeed.Ellen's first hurdle is to gain the respect of the students. Most of them feel that she can never understand who they are, the lives they lead, and why they feel that life is all but hopeless for them. Ellen uses the example of the holocaust to finally begin to peak some interest in the class. Many of the students feel that they are living out their own version of the holocaust, since many of them pray that they will live to reach adulthood. She even takes them to a museum about the holocaust, and has some holocaust survivors speak to the students about their experiences (played in the film by actual holocaust survivors). This begins to have a very powerful and profound effect as the students begin to look within themselves.However, Ellen's idea of creating a journal for the students was brilliant. Most people don't realize that writing is a very healing activity. Ellen gives them the freedom to write whatever they want. There are no requirements. If the students want her to read the journals (which isn't required) they can discreetly leave them in a cabinet in the classroom. Ellen probably thought she would be lucky to find even one journal there. However, she opens up the cabinet to find that the whole class has left their journals there for her to read. She finds herself learning and understanding her students in a very deep and personal way as the journals offer her a connection.As a consequence, both Ellen and her students begin to develop a bond. Ellen creates a safe environment for them. Racial barriers quickly begin to fade, as each student realizes that they are not all that different from each other. Even the white student soon finds himself accepted and among friends as the hate and anger are replaced with tolerance, friendship, and understanding.Hilary Swank is one of the best actresses today. She has such range with her abilities from "Boys Don't Cry" to "Million Dollar Baby." Swank brings Ellen Gruwell to life without making Gruwell seem larger than life. Gruwell has her own battles to fight, including getting two extra jobs so she can buy books and other things for her students. Swank is also able to bring Gruwell's naivety about teaching to light.Imelda Stanton, one of the best character actresses in the business, is brilliant as Mrs. Campbell. She's a woman who has been teaching for nearly 30 years. She feels slighted that a woman with minimal teaching experience can come in and make a difference. And yet, sometimes it isn't the experience that is needed as much as the belief and faith in the students. I've seen teachers who have taught for a number of years who have lost that faith. They've given up. They simply go through the motions and try to get through a day. Mrs. Campbell embodies these teachers, and Stanton does this extremely well.One of the most powerful moments in this film is when, after reading the "Diary of Anne Frank," the students want to meet the woman who hid Anne Frank. They hold fundraisers to earn enough money to send for her. She shows up and shares her experience. When one student stands up and says, "You are my hero." She quickly turns things around as an opportunity to empower these kids. "No, YOU are the heroes," she says. "Just because you are teenagers doesn't mean you can't be a small light in the darkness."Ellen Gruwell gives everything of herself for these kids. She believes in them, even when nobody else does; not even members of their own families. Her dedication and devotion to them costs her her marriage. And despite the abuse she takes in the beginning, she never, NEVER loses her focus or her zeal and enthusiasm to teach and believe in her students."Freedom Writers" is a tremendous film about an extraordinary teacher with extraordinary students. Perhaps it demonstrates that what these kids want more than anything else, is for someone to believe in them; for someone to be a beacon and show them that they can change; that they can make different choices and that it is never too late.Everyone can be a small light in the darkness. Ellen Gruwell is certainly that.