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Agronomist, The
ThinkFilm Inc.


8.7

based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 4 votes
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FILM:

Internet Movie Database

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some violent images and brief nudity

Starring Jean Dominique

This documentary is a profile of Jean Dominique, a Haitian radio journalist and human rights activist who was assassinated in 2000.

GENRE(S):	Documentary
DIRECTED BY:	Jonathan Demme
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 7, 2005 Theatrical: April 23, 2004
RUNNING TIME:	91 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

As a documentary, The Agronomist, in its excitingly fractured, modern manner, does what Lawrence of Arabia and The Leopard do: It traces the upheaval of a civilization in the profile of a magnificent individual. It's a 90-minute nonfiction film with the impact and the greatness of an epic.

Slate David Edelstein

Demme's movie exuberantly crosses the border from documentary into hagiography and from hagiography into celebration.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

Free speech isn't merely a shibboleth in The Agronomist. As embodied by Dominique, it's a fire-breathing force.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Driven by Dominique's personal magnetism, The Agronomist is a haunting, inspirational valentine to free speech and human resilience.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

This affecting eulogy underscores not only Demme's own tribute to Dominique but also the film's homage to radio. This is a motion picture that's in love with the magic of airborne speech.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Director Demme has done other potent and meaningful films, but The Agronomist defers to none of them in its effectiveness and its power.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

It seems almost unthinkable that such a charismatic, generous and lively man could be gone. It also makes you understand what it means for a country like Haiti to lose a citizen like Jean Dominique.

Miami Herald Marta Barber

Enlightening documentary.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

This film--one of the best and most memorable documentaries of the year so far--brings that truth-teller to us once again.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

After his murder, Michele Montas goes on the air to insist that Jean Dominique is still alive, because his spirit lives on. But in this film Haiti seems to be a country that can kill the spirit, too.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

A rousing celebration of a genuine people's hero and a timely reminder that a free press is the greatest weapon in the arsenal of democracy and freedom.

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

The film verges on hagiography as one interviewee after another testifies to Dominique's positive influence on his nation, but in this case the cynical notion that there must be another side to the story is easy to tamp down.

Dallas Observer Melissa Levine

Demme's film is as inspiring and moving as its subject, a man who brought critical news and information to the people of Haiti even as a series of dictatorships sought violently to shut him down.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Has important things to tell viewers about global politics, and in an eerily resonant way.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

We are left with vivid images of Dominique, whose desire to change his country, despite formidable intimidation, is an inspiration to any supporter of democracy.

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

Compelling.

LA Weekly Marc Cooper

Although the film may be about 20 percent overweight, the human story of a man who -- for four decades -- spat in the eye of his tormentors and gleefully accepted his role as a latter-day Sisyphus commands the viewer's attention.

Variety Robert Koehler

Melds a great cause and Dominique's incandescent charisma with care using research from nine years of filming and reporting.

Chicago Reader Meredith Brody

Demme's moving documentary turns the story of his dead friend into the story of Haiti.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Remarkable, melancholy, and ultimately hopeful documentary.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Smartly filmed (aside from a few distracting editing fripperies), but it's so dazzled by its subject and saddened by his martyrdom that it never moves past the heroic politics of dissent.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Watching Demme's documentary is both a crash course in the nation's tumultuous past and a provocative visit with one of its most colorful citizens.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Until he was shot to death in 2000, Haitian radio journalist Jean Dominique was a lone voice for truth and freedom in his politically riven country.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The Agronomist uses archival footage and music to tell a moving story that's all too common in the Third World.

San Francisco Chronicle Jonathan Curiel

The story of an amazing life.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Jonathan Demme gets personal with this affectionate tribute to courageously outspoken radio broadcaster Jean Dominique, the pro-democracy advocate whose unflagging support for president Jean-Bertrand Aristide eventually cost him his life.

Film Threat Merle Bertrand

The film reveals a man whose wiry build, relentless passion, fearless guile, and bravery made him a beloved human rights activist in his strife-ridden country.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

As Demme's audienc we're at the mercy of political passion overshadowed by style.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Not an extraordinary portrait, but it does portray an extraordinary man.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Acuati A. gave it a 10:
Excellent Movie!

Chad S. gave it a 7:
Is it just me, or do you expect a film you paid full admission for, to fill the screen? Don't get me wrong, "The Agronomist" is a must-see, but it could've very well been must-see TV. Jean Dominique did brave things, without a discernible trace of megalomania, and he probably didn't have any romantic notions about being a martyr; like, the perhaps, studied Tupac Shakur. "The Agronomist" reminded me of "Tupac: Resurrection" when Dominique predicts his own death, and Demme's unobtrusive technique of allowing the deceased to pull a William Holden. To an American, a radio travesty is Howard Stern not being allowed to speak because of censorship, and if you're American, you have to concur it is. In "The Agronomist", Jean Dominique doesn't speak for the horny, he speaks for the poor, and Clear Channel isn't riddled with bullet holes like Radio Haiti. "The Agronomist" is merely, a good film, not good enough for wandering eyes to notice the 4 X 3 screen ratio, about an extraordinary man.

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Agronomist, The ThinkFilm Inc.

Agronomist, The
ThinkFilm Inc.