The Agronomist

Those who think that political documentaries may well be useful but not very entertaining, can allow this film by Jonathan -Silence of the Lambs -Demme to cure them of this prejudice. Over the years, Demme has made several documentaries about the battle for democracy on Haiti, but this film is an especially powerful and comprehensive work in its ambition and dramatic power. Protagonist is the charismatic radio journalist and political activist Jean Dominique. In 1968, Dominique bought the small station Radio Haiti Inter and started broadcasts that were revolutionary because they were in the language of the ordinary population (in Haitian Creole instead of the French of the elite). Haiti experienced several periods of dictatorship in which the radio station was closed or shot up and the intrepid reporter was locked up or banished. During the political unrest in the year 2000, the radio hero was eventually murdered. The Agronomist firstly tells the tragic story of the plagued and enslaved country of Haiti, but the film also belongs in this programme section because it provides an insight into the operation of the American security services and the American army during the various periods of political change. Haiti forms part of the backyard of America and the gardener turns out to have his own methods. (GjZ)