Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

svikasha McFarland, USA is a city in California that to this day has a sizable Hispanic population, many of whom work as migrant farm workers picking crops. "McFarland" is a film that tells the story of Coach White, a passionate coach who gets fired from his football coaching gig at a wealthy high school when he escalates a fight between him and his players to violence. The wealthy high school football players seemed more concerned about the after party than the game. Athletics for these players is a prestige thing that has nothing to do with sportsmanship. After a series of disrespectful actions, Coach White snaps and subsequently gets fired. But as Coach White reflects later to another coach when he arrives at his new school, "It's not the fight in the dog coach, it's the dog in the fight...depends on the size of the dog...".Coach White moves to Cliff Avenue in a Hispanic neighborhood with his wife and two daughters. When he first arrives in the new neighborhood, one of his daughters questions if the family had ended up in Mexico. The Whites struggle at first to fit into their new neighborhood. Meanwhile, the high school students in the small Hispanic town of McFarland have their own struggle. Most of the students at MacFarland have jobs. Athletics isn't even an option for many of them because they come from the fields to go to school and run back to the fields when class gets outs. Many become adults in those very fields. Unless a prison gets to them first. It is a hard life which stands in stark contrast to the lives of Coach White's previous students. He begins to see the athletic potential in his hardworking students and questions the temporary nature of his transitory job as coach at MacFarland. In the classic Disney fashion, Coach White's new community welcomes him. His neighbor even plants him a tree and tells him, "in five years senor you're going to have some nice shade". The simple transitions in the film show the migrant worker's lives with Hispanic music in the background. The scenes are poetic. But the most beautiful part of the film is the raw determination of the high school students trying to compete in a sport and environment that sets them up for failure. A boy named Thomas Valles becomes a de facto leader of the team after Coach White catches the high school student running at 12 miles an hour. This same boy shows up to practice with bruises because he gets his dad to punch him instead of a wall since as a migrant worker his father needs his hands to work. It isn't until coach White works a whole day as a migrant worker himself, picking crops getting paid by the field instead of by the hour that he begins to understand the plight of his athletes. In the spirit of Stand and Deliver Coach White understands that he needs to go beyond his position as coach for these students. He begins to treat them like his own. During one scene, he rushes to a park without enough money for the entrance fee and tells the officer, "I've got five dollars and seven kids who have never seen the ocean". He brings his students to the beach. Eventually, McFarland becomes more than a temporary home for Coach White and his family. It becomes their community, one which adopts them as warmly as they adopted it. The family moments such as the father's speech at his daughters quinceañera will tug at your heartstrings. Coach White disproves Thomas Valles' initial belief that, "Nobody stays in McFarland unless they have to. Because there is nothing American dream about this place". This film is based off a true story and Coach White ended up at McFarland coaching at the town's high school long after better prospects opened up for him. By the end, Coach White recognizes that these kids at McFarland cherish cross country and athletics, something he admits is a privilege many take for granted.

tomsview A coach inspiring a group of underprivileged kids to form a team to beat well-heeled rivals has been done before, but "McFarland, USA" does it well. Set in the 1980's, Jim White (Kevin Costner) takes a job as assistant sports coach at McFarland High, a mainly Hispanic school in Los Angeles. However the area seems too dangerous for his wife and young daughter, while scholastic achievement and prowess on the sporting field are not priorities for the students, many of whom work in the surrounding fields as pickers to help their families. However when White realises that some of his students are strong runners, he creates a cross-country running team to take on the wealthier schools that dominate the sport. Then as White and his family get to know the people in the area, they feel a sense of belonging, which they hadn't felt before. The film builds to an emotional, uplifting climax. Although a fair amount of rearranging of the facts took place, it is reassuring to learn that the story is essentially true. The film gets its message across without being preachy. At the end, when the actors segue into the real people, the theme behind the film becomes clear; if you can engage people and focus them on a goal and build self-esteem then they are more likely to become the citizens you want. This is a movie that sneaks up on you. Kevin Costner plays it low-key. One can see how an overly effusive approach to teaching would in reality have seemed fake to students wary of anything false. Maria Bello is perfect as Cheryl Whitel it's not a big role but she lifts any film she is in. Valente Rodriguez almost steals the show as the likable Principal Carmillo. Long distance running takes on an almost mystical significance in movies. Possibly the link with cross country-running, the endurance required and the sense of achievement it generates was one of the reasons nearly all the boys in Coach White's squad went on to lead meaningful lives. A football team or a baseball team would also have had a galvanising effect, but endurance sports are different – it could have a lot to do with endorphins cutting in creating a natural high and great self-confidence. McFarland is a movie with a heart; it's a winner all round.

Prismark10 MacFarland is a gentle, pleasant sports drama that stars Kevin Costner as football coach, Jim White who after losing his job washes up in some small, dirt poor, dead end town full of Mexicans in a high school in McFarland.White and his family feel uncomfortable but discovers that his Hispanic pupils are talented runners but once the school day is over and even before school starts they are working in the local farms picking crops in order to earn enough money for their families.White inspires them and transforms them into cross country runners but they have to deal with antagonistic rival high school coaches and rich white kids with snide comments.Costner is now an old hand with sports themed movies. This has enough quirky charm as well as humour as an outsider who unearths genuine talent in this fact based story and at the same time becomes a valued member of the community.

kosmasp It's not easy to make this real life stories feel ... real. So while this moves along smoothly and makes it seem easy, it's not as easy to pull it off most of the time. Kevin Costner is no stranger to sports dramas of course and he makes a strong lead. But it's not only him who makes the movie work, it's the other actors too.You'd also have to have a heart of stone not to be touched by some of the very genuine moments in this. At the end, we also see the real people and what happened to them. It's predictable most of the time, but that doesn't take away anything from it or the impact it has on the viewer (those who let themselves dive in).