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.

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