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The Revolutionary Optimists
By Sandie Angulo Chen,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Indian slum kids stand up for themselves in poignant docu.
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What's the Story?
In the slums of Kolkata (Calcutta), India, the kids live in unimaginable poverty, but one educated Bengali man, attorney Amlan Ganguly, believes that they have the potential to make a change in the world. In a community center he runs with other selfless adults, Ganguly encourages tweens and teens to rise above their circumstances and educate people about their plight -- like their lack of access to clean water. THE REVOLUTIONARY OPTIMISTS focuses on four of the young people Ganguly mentors, demonstrating that no matter how poor or young someone might be, they can do more than just dream of a better future.
Is It Any Good?
This moving documentary captures the lives of kids who could so easily give up -- life has dealt them seemingly insurmountable odds -- but manage to find in Ganguly a magical godfather of sorts. He's always ready with an inspirational story or a question to make the kids think. He's patient and kind and realizes what a messed-up world these kids inhabit -- one in which most of the greater population plays blind and deaf to their needs.
But these kids won't stay silent. There's young Salim, who's part of Dakabuko (The Daredevils) in his slum colony. He works tirelessly to make the government aware of his community's need for clean water. At one point, a UNICEF official jokes that if it weren't against child labor laws, he'd offer Salim a job; he's that passionate. There's also Salim's neighbor/best friend, Sikha, who fights for girls' equal rights and wants to start a coed soccer tournament. Kajal must work in a brick field as her family's sole breadwinner, but she wants to fight for her education. And beautiful 15-year-old Priyanka loves to dance but fears that early marriage is her only way out of an abusive, disinterested home. Not everyone gets a happily ever after, but the filmmakers show how all it takes is one person who believes in them for these children to rise up and have hope.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about documentaries. Do you want to see more true/real stories with your family? How are documentaries different from reality TV?
Talk about child labor and how these kids have so little. Does that make their actions even more admirable?
Discuss how poverty in other countries can be even more difficult to overcome than poverty in the United States. What are the cultural issues and prejudices at play in keeping the kids in these slums?
Movie Details
- In theaters: March 29, 2013
- On DVD or streaming: June 26, 2013
- Cast: Amlan Ganguly
- Directors: Maren Grainger-Monsen , Nicole Newnham
- Studio: Shadow Distribution
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Great Boy Role Models , Great Girl Role Models
- Run time: 83 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: October 8, 2022
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