It’s strange how certain films of quality slip past us as we walk the new-release wall. I walked straight by one such movie once, twice, three times. It was on my fourth visit to the video store that I finally decided to give “Freedom Writers” a try.

Glad I did.

Usually, I try to find two films to compare and contrast. If nothing else, “Freedom Writers,” I thought, would be a great way to tell you more about an exceptional film called “Stand and Deliver.”

A PG-rated, 1988 release starring Academy-Award nominee Edward James Olmos, “Stand and Deliver” does indeed live up to its title in a dramatic sense.

“Freedom Writers,” however, due in large part to two-time Academy-Award winner Hilary Swank, doesn’t just stand on its own, it bounces on its toes, delivering a powerful, uplifting story about people just like you and me. That is, if you can disregard color for two hours.

Sit down and watch this PG 13-rated winner with your children. There’s some foul language, some violence.

Yet whether you’re white, brown, black, blue or black-and-blue – and all of the characters share at least two of these hues – the good news is director Richard LaGravenese has an honest eye behind the camera’s lens.

He simply tells a story – a true story – about war-torn children right here in America.

But the film never descends into condescension, never reaches for the preacher’s pulpit.

“Freedom Writers” is an “us” movie. It’s about us and our children. Unlike the sadly fascinating “Boyz n the Hood” or even the remarkably unique “Stand and Deliver” – both enjoyable, important films about “them” – “Freedom Writers,” set in the mid-’90s, kindles a sense of urgency within any responsible viewer.

It deftly touches on many hot-button issues, including the importance of diaries in the wake of the Virginia Tech murders, the changing role of male spouses in these United States and the hypocrisy of tenure in the teaching profession, while always advancing its main idea – what adults do affects children.

Credit the supporting players with ensuring this feat.

As the lead, Swank surely impresses. But the friction she creates with her judgmental father, properly underplayed by Scott Glenn; her weak-willed husband, a surprisingly strong Patrick Dempsey; and, most especially, her threatened supervisor, perfectly portrayed in an utterly thankless Wicked Witch of the West role by Imelda Staunton, lifts “Freedom Writers” to a special place.

In fact, this 2007 release is a reminder that worthy films don’t slip past us. We, to our detriment, slip by them.