A wonderful depiction of the life of a young black boy in the Martinique in the '30s. The film gives an impressionist view of life in the French colony and of the uneasy coexistence between the two worlds of the descendants of slaves, kept in a de facto economic slavery, and of the békés (whites). The fact that a lot of issues are just suggested and not described at length makes the movie even more interesting. One could argue that the general story may be too optimistic and that the direction of children groups is not perfect. I found that this adds to the charm of the movie. The too main characters, the young boy (Garry Cadenat) and his grandmother (Darling Legitimus), are wonderful. One of the most moving film I have seen in a long time. Note that one the characters in the movie longs to become an actor in Hollywood, while the director Euzhan Palcy eventually went herself to Hollywood to direct with success inter alia A dry white season.
Review of Sugar Cane Alley
