The Agronomist

Genres:

The Agronomist
Review by Pam & George Singleton for Reel Movie Critic

H H H ½
Cast

Jean Dominique	Michelle Montas
Directed by Jonathan Demme. Documentary. Rated PG-13 for violent images and brief nudity. Running time: 90 minutes.

Freedom is not free

It seems that we can randomly pick a time and find somewhere in the world that people are undergoing horrors that we’d like to believe are only nightmarish dreams. For some, the title "The Agronomist" creates a milquetoast image of one dedicated to the land, in an agrarian sense. In truth Jean Dominique, the subject of this documentary, was devoted to the land, his country of Haiti. Dominique was a Haitian radio journalist and human rights activist who was assassinated in April 2000.

Haiti’s fitful experience with dictatorships and democracy is integral to the film, yet it serves as the background to the real message of the movie, which is the story of Jean Dominique. He was a dynamic personality on a quest for freedom for himself and the common man.

The archival footage of much of the historical and political upheaval in Haiti appears to be somewhat matter of fact. Dominique fills in his point of view, relating stories of his father’s teaching regarding being Haitian. The film is not as compelling as Robert McNamara in "The Fog of War," but the information presented helps us everyday common folk to better understand how we shape our foreign policy. The film chronicles the struggles of Jean Dominique and his wife Michelle Montas, also a journalist, to bring free speech across the airwaves in Haiti, broadcasting on their station, Radio Haiti Inter. They wanted to exercise the radical notion that all citizens have a right to freedom of expression in the press as well as being able to participate in public demonstrations without fear of being killed. Their safety threatened, Jean and Michelle left Haiti and experienced long periods of self-imposed exile in New York twice.

It was during one of those exiles that Dominique met Jonathan Demme. They became close friends and so began nearly ten years of filmed interviews, which developed into "The Agronomist." Demme’s 1991 thriller, "Silence of the Lambs," won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Demme recently completed production on the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate," with Denzel Washington. Jonathan is seen as a person blessed to have a passion for something other than just making a living. Demme’s list of Hollywood films, including "Philadelphia," "Beloved," and "The Truth About Charlie," showcases his commercial side and this documentary places his passionate personality on display.

Is democracy the right fit for all nations? It’s an open question in Iraq and likely a big "NO" in China. What should the US stance be with a country so near our shores, which has a large population mired in poverty, and that has an elected leader thrown out of office by means of the barrel of a gun rather than the ballot box? While the story of Jean Dominique and his wife is fascinating, the questions the film raises about American foreign policy are troubling. It helps place into perspective the juggling act President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell have before them as they look at all the nations of the world. Even for them, there are only 24 hours in a day to get things done right (e.g., the current debate over who should have done what, and when to possibly prevent the events of 9/11 from happening).

As with the film "The Passion of the Christ," what you see in this movie is largely influenced by your personal and political beliefs, and what your expectations are of the film.

George’s Take: He was expecting an interesting but benign documentary, like "My Architect." He was somewhat surprised by the mixture of a family oriented political activist and the turbulent history of Haiti. While the film was not made in response to the recent events in that country, one cannot help but draw some conclusions about foreign policy in general and America in particular.

Pam’s Take: More directly political than George’s was when it came to drawing conclusions, Pam is more suspicious of American foreign policy when it comes to people of color. Haitians in the open waters of the Atlantic who flee a dictatorship are routinely denied political asylum in the US. Coming into the movie, she was aware that the film was about a freedom fighter in Haiti who was killed pursuing his cause to broadcast a live talk radio show that is truly a routine situation in the United States.

As the world continues to shrink, with jet planes, the Internet, satellite TV and telephones, just what is the impact of the need for oil and the commercial globalization for the likes of McDonalds and Starbucks, and other such cultural phenoms? Unless the world becomes a better melting pot… the pot will likely meltdown.

george@reelmoviecritic.com