Freedom Writers

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I want the DVD as well. I always loved English class and a teacher like Mrs. Gruwell would've been a dream come true. If I ever become a teacher, I'd be an English teacher.

I loved the way the movie didn't totally ignore Erin's personal life, that not everything came together because you worked hard, sometimes because you worked so hard things fell apart on the other side.
 
I found Freedom Writers to be so inspiring. I want to be an English teacher so I related to this movie so much. I feel that Erin Gruwell is an inspiration to anyone who wanted to give others a chance to learn. I always watch this movie whenever this is on Showtime and I love it! So good. I love Hilary Swank and I believe she is an amazing actress. :) I have to get the DVD one of these days.
 
This is a surprisingly great movie. Surprising in the sense that they found a way to make it feel fresh and VERY hard hitting without being cheesy or too "mythical."

I just watched it with high expectations and came away very satisfied. :clap:

Hilary Swank can no wrong. The actors portraying the students were incredibly natural and real. This is one heck of a movie. I must've cried for half of it, it really touched me.
 
I knew I would find this topic eventually.

Well I finally got the chance to go see the movie "Freedom Writers" with Hilary Swank; with my mom. Man, what an awesome movie! It's awesome how this one teacher could sacrifice so much for kids, that other teachers and the administration believed had no potential or going anywhere. And it impressed me at how she even had to sacrifice her marriage. That was one of the sad parts (granted there were many sad moments during the movie.)

Right after the movie, mom and I went to Barnes & Noble to pick up a copy of the book. We each got one. I got the one with the movie cover while my mom got the one with the original cover. I look forward to reading it (hopefully sometime soon as I am currently reading F. 451 by Ray Bradbury.) What these kids went through and what the teacher went through for them; it truly is an awe aspiring story. I definately recomend it.
 
I have to agree with everyone..yes, FW has the same theme as Stand&Deliver/Dangerous Minds/etc...but it's so much better than all of them and amazing.

I think it was also realistic..I could relate to alot that I didn't want to..it was that good. Miep Gees (sp?)'s speech was wonderful..
 
I have to admit when I first started seeing previews for this movie I was on of the people who rolled their eyes and said to themselves "Didn't I already see this movie except Michelle Pfeifer was in the place of Hilary Swank?" Well I decided to give the movie a chance and I'm telling you, it's definitely worth it. The cast was awesome and I was surprised that the Holocaust played a big role in the film. I saw the movie for the 2nd time last night and loved it just as much. And I may go see it again with my mom on Monday. Yes, it really was that good.
 
I really agree with everyone who says it's not what you expect it to be. I just saw it for the second time last night with my mother, and we both cried. It's such a good movie.
 
I just saw this movie last night. I really only went to see it 'cause Patrick Dempsey is in it, but I really loved the whole movie. I want to see it again. :)
 
I saw a test screening of this when I was in LA over the summer, and it was amazing. I highly recommend everyone see it, it shocks you, makes you laugh, cry, get mad. All of the kids were great, and so is Hilary Swank. It's not like "all the other movies", this one is the real deal.
 
OMG I loved this movie so much! I cried sooo much too! I think that everyone did an amazing job and I will def be buying the movie when it comes out. Im buying the book today too.
 
I just saw it this afternoon, and I have to say, what an amazing movie. It made me laugh, it made me smile, and it made me cry.

I loved how they used the story of Anne Frank and the Holocaust as a prime example to show the kids, that they're not alone in how they're feeling and what they're going through.

The diary entries made me cry so much. It just saddens me to know about the horrible things happening to young teens.

I think what Eva (or is it spelled Ava) did in the court room was extremely brave of her. To turn your back on your own race to do the right thing, showed courage, when you know you're going to get jumped for it.

When the class merged together, and acted like friends, it made me smile throughout those scenes, esp. the dancing scene where Erin joined them.

Overall, this movie was incredible. It makes you think about the racial problems going on right now, and it gives you a sense of hope that what happened in room 203, could happen around the world.
 
The big distinction some of you who are against this movie have to take into account is films like Dangerous Minds and Take the Lead are pure Hollywood fantasies and portrayals of what is going on in the inner city even though they are based on real life events like Freedom Writers.

Freedom Writers, in addition to Gridiron Gang are more realistic portrayals of what is really going on in the inner city with young people and the power and seduction of gangs and gang violence. This is something a lot of people living in White Suburbia will never experience, but they think they understand because of movies like DM, and because they buy the latest Snoop Dog album. This is what is sad more than anything else.

What these kids in FR and GG go through is tragic... But the film stresses the point none of these kids asked for any of it. This is the hand they were dealt, but many made the choice... CHOICE... To better themselves and try and get out of a dangerous and nonproductive role society at large a.k.a. White Suburbia has pigeonholed them into and basically written them off because of that role.

Give Freedom Writers a chance.

If you consider it just another "save the kids in the hood" movie than I hate to say it, but perhaps you need a little more maturity and perspective on your own life to appreciate how good you (most likely) do have it compared to what is going on in the inner cities and the daily lives these kids have to struggle against just to stay alive, and how as another poster put it the system is failing these kids more than the kids failing the system a good percentage of the time.
 
Just got back from watching this movie with my sis and some friends. We all went in thinking that it was going to be a decent movie. When we came out, it was so much better than we had expected.

- Hilary did an awesome job in this role as did the rest of the cast of young actors.

- I liked how they actually portrayed the gang wars and violence in schools today. Even though it was in the early 90s when these Freedom Writers starting their schooling, most of that anger and violence still exist heavily in our schools. To me, at least, this is one of the first times where a movie portrayed race wars in the classroom with an honesty that most films tend to shy away from.

- I also liked how they showed the reality of these school systems. Being from California, it's all too familiar seeing the type of schools these kids had to go to. It's not the kids who failed their system. It was the system who failed them.

- The parallels of the Holocaust/Diary of Anne Frank with the stories of these youngsters. Also bringing in actual survivors in the movie was pretty cool too.

All in all, a great movie. Don't overlook it. I know the Dangerous Minds/Stand and Deliver feel vibe to it might be a turnoff, but give it a chance.
 
I know some people are saying it's the same old thing.....like Dangerous Minds, Take the Lead, etc. And yes, it is if you want to say it's an inspiring movie about troubled kids who find a spark or a motivation because someone comes into their lives that believes in them. But, these are true stories so I think it's sad to say they're all the same and to write them off. It never gets tiring for me to learn about amazing people that make an incredible difference in the lives of our youth. I figured the movie would be good, but it was even better than I expected. Very well done. I cried my eyes out. Hilary was teriffic! An amazing story!!
 
Exactly, Nayden. Every time I see trailers or commercials for this movie, I tell myself "It was better when it was called Dangerous Minds." At least, there was no Hilary Swank and also came with a catchy song in "Gangsta's Paradise".
 
I saw the trailer seeing Dreamgirls and all I would say was " Dangerous Minds, writing style":lol:

DM was excellent and this is almost the same concept with the addition of writing:rolleyes:
 
Eh...these movies always feel the same. I'll catch it sometime on HBO when it eventually gets there. And I'm bothered that the commericals use the song "Breathe Me" ... because that song was (IMO) reserved for the Six Feet Under finale, only.
 
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