I watched Freedom Writers today, and even though the plot was predictable (teacher rescuing inner-city kids), I still got caught up in the story.
I've seen the same idea in "To Sir with Love", though those are set in slightly gentler times, and of course,to put it mildly, Sidney Poitier is easier on the eyes and ears than Hilary Swank.
I also have seen a French version, where a music teacher teaches kids that the system has given up on, and creates a choir out of a bunch of straggly kids. The French movie portrayed the teacher with his imperfections, struggling with his own sense of failure - in this movie, Hilary always looks picture perfect - with her pearls and clothes always just so in place.
It still created a sense of the miracle that a good teacher can bring about, and about the power and worth of a good teacher in people's lives, and was quite motivating.
I was also happy to see that America was portrayed more realistically, often people think that America is all honey and milk, and this movie, like the movie "Crash" shows a seamier and more realistic idea of America, which struggles with its diversity, as much as India does.
The movie also is a reminder of whose story gets told - the Holocaust has been told over and over again, and while I understand the pain of the Jews, there are many stories of similar and unspeakable horror, that do not get the same limelight, like the atrocities in Rwanda genocide. The Jews are a powerful community, and they have made sure that their story gets told because they control the finances in America.
