Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786303337005
Format: Color
ISBN: 6303337007
Label: New Yorker Video
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: New Yorker Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: New Yorker Video
Release Date: 1998-01-01
Running Time: 103
Studio: New Yorker Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1984

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 Rating:
Summary: Applicable to life anywhere 2 cultures have crossed
Comment: This was an excelent film.... It is applicable to any society, particularly Criolo, or in french 'creole' society; mixing of European and African ancestry. This reminded me so much of my own Cape Verdean Culture. Although, Cape Verdeans are Criolo mostly from African and Portuguese heritage, the stories are just about the same. An interesting voice from a different part of the world, depicting human dignity, genuinity and effects of Crioloness. Highly recommend this interesting take on humanity from Creole part of the world...

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic story!
Comment: I have grown up watching this movie and am now glad that I own it on DVD. It's one of my all time favorites. It successfully projects pride and respect that Caribbeans often have and are at times misunderstood for by others. Poverty does not equate necessarily one's morals, ethics and life skills. There is much emphasis on education and utilizing the resources large or small to achieve one's goals and live a better life. Many with a Caribbean background can relate to some of the idiosyncrasies that Ma Tine has such as children should not look at adults in the eye. Many of us I'm sure can relate to the switch spanking.

The village of Rue Casse Negres is composed of adults who were born free on the island but are still slaves to the sugar cane plantations. The story takes place post abolition showing its effects on blacks. It provides a realistic portrayal of how though poverty makes live hard, it need not be identified with. I usually find that I don't like books that have been depicted into movies, however this is the only exception. Both the book and the movie are capable of standing on their own. Just be aware that if you read the book first, the movie is different adding portions that were not in the book. In this movie for example, Jose's mother is deceased. In the book, she is alive and a

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Sugar Cane Workers
Comment: This movie depicts the life of sugar cane field workers in the French Caribbean and the great difficulty they have in doing anything else but working in the fields. It is also a delightful movie on poor blacks in the Caribbean, showing the day-to-day fun of the youth, and the real, practical concerns of their parents. In many respects it shows the intensiveness of Sugar cane harvesting, and is a nice movie to view for those who are interested in the story of sugar and its great impact on the modern Western Civilization. The movie is a nice companion to the great anthropologist Sidney Mintz' book Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. The unknown actors are a treat for both their innocence and naturalness. Two to note are the main character of the movie, a young boy named Jose and an old man in the movie whose facial expressions and words stay with you long after the movie is over (particularly in the scene with Jose and him around a fire). To get more technical, the movie was not fantastic as there were not too many scenes that resonated more than this one just mentioned, the movie was however simply delightful. For Language buffs a nice introduction to Caribbean French.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: a beautiful film.......
Comment: SUGAR CANE ALLEY was my introduction to the culture of Martinique during the 1930s. This beautiful 1983 release, directed by Euzhan Palcy, is a powerful and sensitively made character study. It follows the plight of Jose (Garry Cadenat), an eleven year old boy living with his grandmother, M'Man Tine (Darling Legitimus) in one of the poorest sections of the island. The only way the locals can (barely) sustain themselves is to toil away in the sugar cane fields (hence, the title of the film)-- a back-breaking and thankless job. The one way out of this toil and poverty is a good education. M'Man Tine knows this all too well and wants to spare her grandson the pain, anguish and great struggle that they encounter around them in spades. Jose applies himself in school and proves himself to be an eloquent, intelligent and wise-beyond-his-years writer. Will Jose's true gift be his (and his grandmother's) ticket out of the slums? You'll have to watch the film and see for yourself.

SUGAR CANE ALLEY received critical acclaim for its sensitive and realistic portrayal of the poor, Black experience in 1930s Martinique. This is a must-see for French students, anyone interested in the culture/history of Martinique or anyone looking to watch a powerful film about the triumph of the human spirit in the face of great adversity. Just beautiful......

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Sugar Cane Alley
Comment: Euzhan Palcy's warm, deeply felt film about mentorship and sacrifice is a life-affirming experience, and springs from autobiographical roots. Palcy recreates the plantation life with a keen sense of balance, offsetting the squalid conditions of workers with an authentic feeling of community and the innocence of childhood. All the central players are superb, particularly Cadenat and Legitimus. Another hidden gem.

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