Waiting for "Superman"

Knowledge is power, and the information that this sobering documentary imparts practically demands that viewers wake up and smell the chalk dust. Its message? Our country’s schools are failing our children because we're watching out for the adults in the education system and not the students it's meant to shape. Straightforward when other, lesser documentaries would have gone opaque and academic while still compassionate, the film is gutsy and opinionated in many eye-opening ways. You will be impelled to act by the time the credits roll.

The film does, however, gloss over many ills: It doesn’t address overcrowding and hardly discusses how budgetary challenges hinder calls for change. It’s also undermined by a black-and-white stance -- charter schools are the heroes; unions are the villains. But, oh the climax: Watching the families we’ve gotten to know throughout Waiting for "Superman" hear whether, well, Superman is finally swooping in and saving them from educational quicksand is almost too much to bear. When fifth-grader Anthony says he wants his kids to have more than what he has -- to get a great education -- expect your heart to break.