Sugar Cane Alley

Starring:Garry Cadenat, Darling LÃ©gitimus, Douta Seck, Joby BernabÃ©, Francisco Charles, Marie-Jo Descas, Marie-Ange Farot, Henri Melon, EugÃ¨ne Mona, JoÃ«l Palcy, Miguel Huret, Victor Grivallier, Clothaire Grivallier, Louis Luc Bernex, Joby Ravenet, Emmanuel Beaudi, Francis Coco, AndrÃ© Lehr, Lina Sabinus, Laurent Saint-Cyr
Director: Euzhan Palcy
Studio: New Yorker Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Touching without being sentimental, political without being preachy, this story set in 1930s Martinique is both lyrical and powerful. Writer-director Euzhan Palcy tells the story of a young boy who is orphaned at the age of 11 and sent to live with his grandmother, who works on one of the island's sugar cane plantations. Though he is bright, she realizes he has no future if he stays on the plantation. So she does what she can to keep him in school and away from the back-breaking, will-sapping hard labor to which she's devoted her life. Can he rise above his humble beginnings? Will he forget about his self-sacrificing grandmother and leave her behind? Palcy deals with these issues with great emotion but no false sentimentality in this poignant film. In French with English subtitles. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

Sugar Cane Alley.......2006-08-29

The original film is in French, and its title translates as "Black Shack Alley." But I guess somebody decided that wasn't PC enough for English-speaking audiences, so for us it's Sugar Cane Alley. Oh well. It's a great film regardless.

Set in modern-day Martinique, this is more of that unflinching realism I like to laud. Also a damn lot of fun. Mischievous 11-year-old Jose is a joy to watch. His grandmother is determined he won't work the fields the way everybody else does. From such a simple-sounding premise comes real life, in your face, in a film you'll watch more than once if you buy it.

Finally on DVD.......2005-09-03

I'm delighted that this film is finally on DVD. A 'growing up' tale of a boy and his grandmother's determination to see him leave the sugarcane plantations and achieve a better life.

Memorable film making, this is not a complicated story, but clearly deeply felt by the writer/director, and it has a old fashioned depth and pace to it that contrasts vividly (to this film's advantage) with Hollywood's empty flashiness.

It reminds me in some ways of another little-known gem and growingup tale, Allen Fong's Father and Son, a Hong Kong movie.

One quibble - why change the name?

A big hand however for making this available on DVD and resisting the temptation to dub it for American audiences, who apparently don't like sub-titles...

Forget the subtitles - This is a great movie for anyone to see........2005-07-19

I really enjoyed this movie. Seeing a story of what life was like during that time in the Caribbean really showed me that black people are the same no matter where we are. This move is about a young man growing up in a sugar cane field and he is very smart and talented. He has the family support he needs around him, and with his intelligence and determination, he wins a scholarship to a top school in the island's main town. What makes it more powerful is that by the time he achieves all this success, his father figure and mother figure die. It is almost as if they were meant to be in his life to carry him to that point and then leave the earth because they did they came to do.

I don't care that the movie was in French with English subtitles, I really wish that people made more movies like this. Very good movie.

Truly Enlightening.......2004-12-15

For the little that i did see about this movie, i found it very interesting how palcy's grandmother did everything she could to make sure he recieved the best education there was. While others didnt value the importance of an education, she took advantage of every opportunity that came along. i didnt realize how important educationn was to succeed in other countries until I watched thos movie. I would reccommend it to anyone who has not yet see it. Go And VIew It NOw!

Respect.......2004-12-14

A story about an 11 year old boy, Palcy, who was sent to live with his grandmother. Writer-director Euzhan Palcy tried to show you how important education and respect was growing up in the 1930's in a black community in Martinique. Palcy's grandmother believes he is a smart boy and he won't get anywhere working on the sugar cane fields. She will do anything to make sure he gets a good education. That means giving up her job on the Sugar cane fields and moving to a new city so Palcy can get the education he deserves. This movie shows the respect children had for there parents, and how much the parents will do to make sure there children are taken care of. After working long days on the Sugar cane fields parents come home and make sure there children have enough to eat and clothes to wear. This movie also shows how much a community sticks together and looks after one another. When an old man was missing the whole community go together to find him. This was a great movie. It touchs your heart and makes you think.

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