As I write this, I’m listening to the Mike Rosen Show on AM 850 KOA Denver as he interviews director Madeleine Sackler about her newly released edu-documentary The Lottery.

A month ago my Education Policy Center friends attended a special screening of this film. The Lottery is back in Denver this week, and you can watch it at the Starz Film Center at the Tivoli.

Now, at least one education reform expert out there — Rick Hess — is wary that films like The Lottery and Waiting for Superman (coming soon) may go a little over the top. Yes, maybe he’s being old and cranky, but there is a valid caution in his conclusion:

So, I’m torn. I think these movies have a valuable and constructive role to play, so long as advocates don’t deem it a substitute for reasoned argument. I guess I’m for edu-agitprop so long as its practitioners evince good nature and a bit of humility, and so long as cheerleaders retain enough sense of irony to not believe their own hype.

I urge you to read all of Hess’s conflicted assessment, then go to the theater and help discover for yourself whether he makes a valid point. In any case, I’m sure you’ll find the movie compelling. Get out to the Starz Film Center. After Thursday, it may be gone!