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.

| Aug 12, 2022

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.

| Original Score: 3/4 | 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.

| May 7, 2021

Effortlessly enchanting.

| May 7, 2021

Sugar Cane Alley is a well-felt film that focuses on hope rather than despair in the face of oppression, a moral tale that works because of its own sense of innocence and belief in justice.

| 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.

| 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.

| May 7, 2021

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

| May 7, 2021

Though Palcy is young and virtually untried, you never get the feeling you are in the hands of anyone but a masterful filmmaker.

| Original Score: 4/4 | May 7, 2021

An intriguing but depressing film.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 7, 2021

Euzhan Palcy brings so much warmth to her film Sugar Cane Alley that even a funeral scene midway through has an unexpected sweetness.

| May 7, 2021

Palcy's eye for detail and color make this film something quite special. She's elicited wonderful performances from an ensemble headed by Garry Cadenat as Jose and Darling Legitimus as his indomitable, pipe-smoking grandmother.

| May 7, 2021

This is a brilliant little movie.

| May 7, 2021

Sugar Cane Alley is one of those films that, as a friend likes to say, seems to get better on the ride home, and fulfills Its potential in conversations a day or two later.

| May 7, 2021

Director Palcy gives us a powerful sense of Martinique, its history and turbulent social issues. The performances of Legitimus and Cadenat are especially endearing.

| May 7, 2021

Sugar Cane Alley may be the cheeriest, most lyrical film about utter economic depravity that many of us are likely to see.

| May 7, 2021

Like many (perhaps most?) great works of art, it's depressing and exalting, showing us the backbreaking life of the native cane harvesters in the 1930s and the attempt of one radiantly sunny boy named Jose to escape that life through education.

| May 7, 2021

Although Sugar Cane Alley is about life's inequities, it is also about hope. Thanks to the courageous example of people like Tine and Medouze, Jose stands a good chance of escaping the canefields without bartering away his soul.

| May 7, 2021

Nothing much happens, but its excellent cast of bright-faced children and wizened elders makes it well worth seeing.

| May 7, 2021

As Jose, young [Garry] Cadenat offers a winning blend of mischief and devotion, and the supporting cast -- although filled with first-time actors -- is excellent.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 7, 2021