Liked it in 1989

Rating: Null/10 (27 July 2003)

My diary informs me that I liked this film in 1989, of which I remember nothing today:
Very good movie. I feared it would be just a Robin Williams "vehicle", another story about an unconventional young teacher clashing with the stuffy authorities. As I watched the movie I kept wondering whether it was upholding personality or principle. Was it just a paean to a wonderful teacher, something like "To Sir with Love" or was it upholding some principle? There were moments when I was about to dismiss the movie as a pretentious version of "Beach party bingo", Franky Avalon gone Ivy League. When one of the students, well, no spoilers, I feared the movie was degenerating into soap opera. Then I feared a sudden happy ending that would tilt the balance toward personality and narcissism and away from principle. But at the very end, it becomes clear that it is the other way around. Conventionality and conformity cannot be defeated. However, the ideals of Thoreau and other free-thinkers cannot be either.