The Agronomist (2003)

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Release Date:

31 March 2004 (France)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

The true story of Jean Dominique, a Haitian radio journalist and human rights activist.

Plot Keywords:

Haiti

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Jean Dominique	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aboudja	...	Himself
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violent images and brief nudity.

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud)

Company:

Clinica Estetico

Quotes:

Peasant Leader: [prior to pouring the assassinated Jean Dominique's ashes into a farming community's river] "We peasants, from all corners of this country, will not give up this fight. The same way Jean stood with us, Jean has trusted us with his body, his ashes, to be joined with the waters and soil of the Artibonite River. Jean always said you can take the body, burn the body, but the spirit... you devils! the spirit... you criminals! the spirit... you assassins! lives on in our minds."

Radio Haiti!

"The Agronomist", Jean Dominique of Haiti's story, is somewhat interesting, but not that much. The slant that director Jonathan Demme put on Dominique's life is what a great man he was for his tireless efforts to save Haiti from dictatorship, lack of free speech, and general repression. As I watched the film, I began to wonder if this was possible. Dominique's broadcasts are good historical information, but we only see a small fraction of them, so it's hard to really tell how "revolutionary" his radio station was. I'm surprised that the government let Dominique keep the station after exiling him twice. I liked Jean Dominique, I think he had a fierce spirit, and wanted to see a democratic, quasi-socialistic Haiti, a Haiti something like Norway or Sweden. A few days after I saw the film, what I'm really left with is how miserably poor Haiti is (except for the few mega-rich that run things). I think this is more of a small screen film for PBS, vs. something for the big screen, if you haven't seen it, wait til the DVD.