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The Agronomist
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
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  1. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    100
    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.
  2. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    90
    Free speech isn't merely a shibboleth in The Agronomist. As embodied by Dominique, it's a fire-breathing force.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    90
    Driven by Dominique's personal magnetism, The Agronomist is a haunting, inspirational valentine to free speech and human resilience.
  4. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    90
    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.
  5. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    90
    Director Demme has done other potent and meaningful films, but The Agronomist defers to none of them in its effectiveness and its power.
  6. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    90
    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.
  7. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    90
    Demme's movie exuberantly crosses the border from documentary into hagiography and from hagiography into celebration.
  8. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    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.
  9. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    This film--one of the best and most memorable documentaries of the year so far--brings that truth-teller to us once again.
  10. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Marta Barber
    88
    Enlightening documentary.
  11. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    83
    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.
  12. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    83
    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.
  13. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    80
    Compelling.
  14. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Marc Cooper
    80
    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.
  15. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Melissa Levine
    80
    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.
  16. Variety
    Reviewed by: Robert Koehler
    80
    Melds a great cause and Dominique's incandescent charisma with care using research from nine years of filming and reporting.
  17. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    80
    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.
  18. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    80
    Has important things to tell viewers about global politics, and in an eerily resonant way.
  19. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Meredith Brody
    80
    Demme's moving documentary turns the story of his dead friend into the story of Haiti.
  20. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    78
    Remarkable, melancholy, and ultimately hopeful documentary.
  21. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    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.
  22. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    75
    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.
  23. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    The Agronomist uses archival footage and music to tell a moving story that's all too common in the Third World.
  24. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Curiel
    75
    The story of an amazing life.
  25. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    75
    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.
  26. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    70
    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.
  27. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Merle Bertrand
    70
    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.
  28. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    67
    As Demme's audienc we're at the mercy of political passion overshadowed by style.
  29. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    63
    Not an extraordinary portrait, but it does portray an extraordinary man.
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