“McFarland:” Refreshingly unsentimental about the American dream – Osloby

McFarland in California is referred to as America’s fruit basket. The city is poor, and 90% of the population originating from Latin America. They are located on the bottom rungs of the social ladder, and many make their living as berry and vegetable pickers.

Hit coming teacher Jim White (Kevin Costner) with his family after he was fired for beating a student. White has even fallen down on the social ladder, and McFarlands ungdomssskole is the last chance.

You certainly sugar now and thinking that this is another movie about a white middelklassefyr igniting inspiration of lost teenagers ?

That’s it, but even if this sport drama follows the traditional genre limits, one is sometimes pleasantly surprised. McFarland is a good, honest and refreshingly unsentimental drama. Honestly, even if it is made by Disney, and most likely sponsored by Coca Cola!

Well told, beautifully filmed

White has an eye for talent. He sees young people who get up before the sun every morning to pick vegetables in the fields in the hours before school. When the school day is over they pick on. He observes that many of the youngsters can run both fast and far, and start a team of mountain runners!

What follows is a classic against all odds-story, well told, beautifully filmed and well played. Kevin Costner makes one of his best roles as the man who become aware of an America he did not know existed.

Will never clammy and sentimental

The socio-political aspect of America’s growing underclass and immigrants without rights lurks beneath the surface. Director Niki Caro has a firm grip on the dissemination of the problems, but she never gets clammy sentimental or politically correct.

McFarland is about the human ability to inspire others to not to give up hope for a better future. It is a gift we should not underestimate. Yes, it’s a genre film, but it is solid. The story is told with the drive, humor and powers to engage the very last image. It’s good to see that Hollywood can still tell something so banal, and yet so hard, like a good story.