Sugar Cane Alley

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Sugar Cane Alley

PG

1983

1h 45m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

100%

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41 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

In the French colony of Martinique in the 1930s, rambunctious teenager Jose (Garry Cadenat) lives in a rundown shack in a small farm village with his doting grandmother, M'Man Tine (Darling Legitimus). While studying diligently at the local school, Jose also learns at the side of wise village elder Medouze (Douta Seck), who tells him first-hand of the lives of African slaves. When Jose wins a scholarship to a prestigious high school in the capital, he brings the wisdom of the village with him.

Critics Consensus

Visually and thematically evocative, Sugar Cane Alley tells a story that's heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure.

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David Robinson

The Times (UK)

May 7, 2021

It is, what is more. the most attractive and optimistic film at present on show in London. Which is not to sav that it is without ferocity.

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

May 7, 2021

Even the superb sepia-toned print seems to be enjoying itself, basking in the Martinique sun as Palcy illustrates her theme with bold and confident brushstrokes.

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Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

May 7, 2021

Palcy's film is as strong on poetry as on protest.

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Henry Sheehan

Los Angeles Reader

Aug 12, 2022

Euzhan Palcy's movie shines like the warm summer days of childhood; it captures a youngster's confusing passage into adulthood, his dawning awareness of the world that stretches beyond his poor home village.

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Laurie Horn

Miami Herald

May 7, 2021

3/4

Sometimes the best thing about a movie is its ability to create a sense of texture Sugar Cane Alley is textural in almost every aspect.

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Philip French

Observer (UK)

May 7, 2021

I don't think anyone could leave this wonderful film without feeling more hopeful about the possibilities of the world around us.

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Alec B

@Alec97 Feb 21, 2024

A deeply moving story that treats its characters and their circumstances honestly while never feeling too depressing or sentimental.

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Apr 2, 2022

A deeply moving story that treats its characters and their circumstances honestly while never feeling too depressing or sentimental.

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Jun 2, 2021

All ages admitted; LOL & ROFL

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Mar 24, 2013

Based on a semi-autobiographical novel written by Josef Zobel, this is a wonderful, heart-warming movie set in Martinique in the early thirties. We see the African population working in the cane fields are no longer slaves. But the white masters of a generation ago have now become their bosses, and whilst no longer entitled to beat them are still paying them wages that keep them in poverty in their village 'shacks'. Our young protagonist's Grandmother knows that only a college education in the capital will save her bright boy from a future in the cane fields. That there are so few other period pieces set in the Caribbean of any quality makes this one even more unmissable.

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Mar 15, 2011

This film really captures the essence of the sugar cane culture in Martinique in the 1930s.

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Dec 14, 2010

Direct and moving coming-of-age tale in 1930s Martinique, as an intelligent young boy struggles with issues of class and race.

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Euzhan Palcy

Director

Garry Cadenat

Jose

Darling Legitimus

M'Man Tine

Douta Seck

Medouze

Euzhan Palcy

Screenwriter

Joseph Zobel

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Synopsis

In the French colony of Martinique in the 1930s, rambunctious teenager Jose (Garry Cadenat) lives in a rundown shack in a small farm village with his doting grandmother, M'Man Tine (Darling Legitimus). While studying diligently at the local school, Jose also learns at the side of wise village elder Medouze (Douta Seck), who tells him first-hand of the lives of African slaves. When Jose wins a scholarship to a prestigious high school in the capital, he brings the wisdom of the village with him.

Director: Euzhan Palcy
Producer: Michel Loulergue, Jean-Luc Ormières, Alix Régis
Screenwriter: Euzhan Palcy, Joseph Zobel
Distributor: Orion Pictures, New Yorker Films
Production Co: SU.MA.FA.
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 21, 1983, Original
Runtime: 1h 45m

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