Walkout (2006) Reviews

• Fantastic Movie: Moving

  ourfosterhome2006-04-08

  I was amazed that I never knew about this movement, I was in high school/ jr high in the late 80's - early 90's and this should have been a topic with in our US History text. We covered a small portion of the civil rights movement, a large amount with in the 1800's and nothing from the LA walkouts? My children and all children need to know about the strength people have had to make change, it's inspiring. Often people assume that only people hundreds of years ago made the sacrifices and changes, this was not that long ago and shows that people are able to accomplish anything together. I hope our children are as conscientious, caring and strong to stand up for what they believe is making a difference in the quality of the life in the world we share.

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• I strongly recommend watching this film with your kids.

  lopezjl112006-03-22

  I was totally unaware of all that had happened with the Chicano movement. I was shocked to find out that Universities kept Chicanos out. Sometimes you take things for granted and think that is the way it has always been. As a Chicana, it made me realize all the sacrifices that have been made on my behalf. For this reason, I think as Chicanos we should strive to be successful and go to college. We should also instill in our children a sense of pride in being Chicano. I think that even today there are Hispanics that are ashamed of their culture and raise their kids not knowing how to speak Spanish when their last name is Martinez. The Hispanic population in the U.S. has grown dramatically and for this reason more than ever we need to have a sense of identity about who we are and be proud of it. I really liked this movie and encourage Latino families to sit down and watch it with their kids.

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• Compelling Historical Drama!

  lavatch2006-03-18

  "Walkout" tells the story of the students in Los Angeles high schools in 1968, who stage a boycott of their schools in order to improve the quality of education for Chicanos. The film was skillfully directed by Edward James Olmos, who presents the story in a simple, direct way. There was an especially frank portrayal of the unacceptable educational standards in the schools attended by the young Chicano students. The focal point of the story is the character Paula Crisostomo, an exceptional student, who risked her graduation to participate in the Lincoln High School walkout. A dedicated high school history teacher, Sal Castro, was instrumental in instilling idealism in his students, which resulted in their united efforts for a peaceful protest. The film captured the passion of Paula in an emotionally-charged relationship with her parents, who strongly resist, but slowly come to understand, their daughter's activism. The entire cast, especially the young performers playing the students, was convincing as an effective ensemble in this fine film. "Walkout" is another outstanding HBO project that tackles an important subject and provides an exceptionally high-caliber film. From 1968 to 1969, there was a substantial increase in enrollments of Chicano students in American universities, and this change was due to the consciousness raised by people like Paula Crisostomo and her teacher Sal Castro. In this film, Olmos and a superb cast deliver an important reminder about how a small group of young, passionate individuals have the potential to truly make a difference in their world.

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• This is a great movie for several reasons.....

  mike_dee1022006-03-18

  First of all, this is the first movie ever about the Chicano civil rights movement. And as many Latinos know, the Chicano civil rights movement created some better opportunity for our people. The cast is almost entirely Chicano, which is amazing within itself, seeing that Latinos only make up 2% of Hollywood. It gives us a chance to play Characters, and not only the "Brown person". A piece of history is being told, which has been totally written out of History by the mainstream media & educational institutions. All of the police beating scenes in this movie were re-creations of archived material from TV Stations, which were not allowed to broadcast in 1968. The protagonist is a young woman who is half Filipina & Mexicana. This is great because revolutionary leaders are usually only seen as tough men. This also shows that oppression crosses all color lines, the issues come down to a class struggle, and this can be a catapult for different ethnicities working together on common issues. I feel that we should embrace this movie, and create others also, with stories of our peoples struggle. There are several movies about the Jewish struggle, the African American movement for equal rights, women's rights, but this is so far, the only one speaking of the Chicano civil rights struggle.

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• tell me more

  sakman672006-03-18

  I liked the movie that I just saw. this movie makes me wonder why I did not or have not ever heard about this part of L.A's history. I grow up in L.A county and did not read this story or learn about this story from my school or from any of my friends/neighbors. Thank you for making a movie that it seems everyone else will not. It is called history for a reason. PLease make more of this movies so that I as well as others might be able to understand more about the true history of Los Angelos.I wish that people would fill more comfortable talking about the hardships that people had to go through. please make more movies that show our history.Thank you for the history

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