Behavior

In her 50 years of teaching in Havana, Carmela has never tired of her students – not even Chala, a mischievous 11-year-old who regularly speaks out of turn in class and roughhouses with other boys during recess. Carmela can see past the classroom antics to the young boy who, in the absence of a father, takes care of his drug-addicted mother without any complaint. And, according to Carmela, if you treat a boy like a delinquent, he will act like one. Still, the school administrators fear Carmela, with perhaps a few too many years in the profession, might be losing her edge. When Carmela temporarily falls ill, the substitute teacher decides to send Chala to a disciplinary school. Yet, Carmela is more than ready to risk her esteemed career to protect Chala’s future. Offering a unique glimpse into life in modern Cuba, Ernesto Daranas’s affecting drama unites old and young in the defiant BEHAVIOR. (In Spanish with subtitles) – E.B. Note: Some scenes contain graphic animal imagery.