'The Last Class' examines the legacy of professor Robert Reich

In the early 1980s, Robert Reich stepped into his first class as a professor. The new surprise hit documentary "The Last Class" showcases the end of that chapter of his life as he delivers the final semester of his wildly popular UC Berkeley class, Wealth and Poverty.

"The Last Class" is the first feature film from director Elliot Kirschner. It has earned $700,000 at the box office, a surprisingly impressive total given it has not yet received a wide release.

The movie begins with Reich taking selfies alongside students. His campus celebrity status runs so deep one student asks him to autograph his sneaker.

In addition to teaching, Reich has had a long career that built upon government service, including serving as an economic adviser for President Barack Obama, secretary of Labor for President Bill Clinton and assistant to the solicitor general in the Ford administration.

"Before that, I was special assistant to Abraham Lincoln," he quipped in the film. "No, that's a bad joke."

He's also been a prominent voice of economics in the media, co-founding an educational economics nonprofit, Inequality Media Civic Action, and writing best-sellers like "The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It." But according to the documentary, his work as a professor may be what defines him most.

"I've been a professor, a teacher, for 42 years. I've done a lot of other things, but I've always come back to teaching. That's been my home, and I can't imagine not doing it, to be quite honest," he says at the beginning of the film.

However, as Reich aged (he's now 79), he came to question his ability to perform his professorial duties at the same level, and finally decided to call it quits in 2023 -- although he deeply despises the word "retirement."

In the classroom, Reich is a natural performer, hawkishly watching over students to make sure he's keeping their attention and incorporating creative crowd participation exercises to help explain wealth disparity.

"I'm looking at your faces, and I would say 20% of you have no idea what I just said, but we'll come back to that, don't worry about it," he said to his class patiently.

As a contrast to his former teaching gig at Harvard, he praises the fact that UC Berkeley is a public university, leading to a student body from more diverse socioeconomic origins and less entitlement than private school peers. For Cal alums -- and any college graduate for that matter -- the B-roll of campus life will spark a sense of nostalgia. Although the 71-minute film only features a few classroom scenes, they serve as a reminder of the most enlightening academic moments from one's college days.

The film doesn't get bogged down in economic theory, but rather focuses on the humanity of its subject, his reverence for the profession of teaching and education's role in democracy. Like the best instructors, Reich is not interested in convincing the students what to think, but rather how to think. Cal will miss him deeply.

"The Last Class" screens across the country on Oct. 22, with tickets still available for a showing at Cinemark Century Monterey 13. Streaming details have yet to be announced.

New film about a UC Berkeley professor is a surprise hit