- Writer
- Spencer Nakasako
- Director
- Debbie Lum
- Rating
- n/a
- Running Time
- 85 minutes
- Release Date
- n/a
Overall Score
Rating Summary
This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Sundance Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.
With the immense success of last year’s unpredictable and endlessly entertaining Boys State, it comes as no surprise that there are several documentaries in the Sundance lineup this year that centre around highly driven and intelligent teenagers who engage in fierce competition, showing the immense pressure that is placed on young people. With Try Harder, Lum explores these themes within the context of the education system. The documentary takes place within the confines of Lowell High, an extremely competitive Ivy League secondary school in San Francisco that is known for their high SAT scores and their large amount of Asian-American students.
The film primarily focuses on five students in particular who compete with their fellow classmates for admission to the college of their dreams. The film is a thorough exploration of the American education system and the pressure that Ivy League Universities places on students. Try Harder presents an eye-opening examination of the slightly corrupt nature of Ivy League Universities and the completely unfair bias they hold against Lowell High School, due to their primarily Asian student body, despite producing some of the best test scores in the country.
It’s clear that Lum is well-versed in and passionate about the education system as the film is particularly interested in exploring the mentality installed in Asian youth, one that makes high grades the be all end all and creates a sense of unhealthy competition among students. That being said, the film never criticizes this mentality or judges the lengths which students go to be admitted into such highly-ranked institutions. It merely opens the floodgates, creating a thought-provoking discussion about whether placing these extremely high expectations on students is healthy, while also celebrating the students accomplishments, regardless of if they were admitted to the school of their choice or not.
In the end, Try Harder is a must-see for anyone interested in the education system and is certainly a highlight among Sundance’s stacked lineup.
still courtesy of Sundance
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