Voices Unbound: The Story of the Freedom Writers reviews
Review by on 24 Sep 2010
In the mid-90s, a young teacher arrived at an underprivileged school in Long Beach, California. Surrounded by stories of drugs, abuse, violence and neglect, she began a project which involved the children writing a diary of their lives, eventually taking on a title coined by a group of students during the Civil Rights Movement, The Freedom Writers. What resulted was a movement in itself, the diaries becoming a book and bringing children from all over the USA together.
Although not particularly different in its delivery and style as a documentary, even at times not going deep enough into the facts of how events took place, it is nonetheless the story that shines through.The film is very well structured and almost restrained in its release of information; there were over 150 Freedom Writers and it does well to focus on a select few, which creates more of a narrative structure and characters with which we can identify. And it is primarily through their personalities that a powerful and emotional and important event is successfully documented.
However, this is not only the story of The Freedom Writers and their lives and how they created this book. It also examines their influences; the books that inspired them, the people that shaped their lives and how they have now stepped away from their former lives. More than a story, this is a study of inspiration and bravery, of how we can look to each other in times of need and make a difference. Mike Boyd
Although not particularly different in its delivery and style as a documentary, even at times not going deep enough into the facts of how events took place, it is nonetheless the story that shines through.The film is very well structured and almost restrained in its release of information; there were over 150 Freedom Writers and it does well to focus on a select few, which creates more of a narrative structure and characters with which we can identify. And it is primarily through their personalities that a powerful and emotional and important event is successfully documented.
However, this is not only the story of The Freedom Writers and their lives and how they created this book. It also examines their influences; the books that inspired them, the people that shaped their lives and how they have now stepped away from their former lives. More than a story, this is a study of inspiration and bravery, of how we can look to each other in times of need and make a difference. Mike Boyd
Film details
Voices Unbound: The Story of the Freedom Writers
DOCUMENTARIES
Director: Daniel Anker
United States, 2009.
90 mins.
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