21625: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Journalist gives perspective on Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Fri, Apr. 30, 2004




THE AGRONOMIST (PG-13)***½


Journalist gives perspective on Haiti

BY MARTA BARBER

mbarber@herald.com


Though it's a bit lengthy, Jonathan Demme's enlightening documentary brings
home a world that deeply affects South Florida: troubled Haiti. For the
Oscar-winning director of Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia, The
Agronomist is a personal work, one that shows his admiration for the
subject.

That subject is Jean Dominique, a journalist whose decision to change
professional course and purchase a radio station made him a hero among
Haiti's peasants. A highly educated man, fluent in French and English, he
chose to speak to Radio Haiti Inter listeners in Creole, the language of the
majority of Haitians. ''Creole,'' Dominique says, ''is not simply a language
of words, but of . . . signs.'' This was a first for Haitian radio, and the
ruling elite became suspicious of the new voice on the waves. Throughout the
years of ''Baby Doc'' Duvalier, the first Jean-Bertrand Aristide presidency,
the illegal rule of Raoul Cedras and the first return of Aristide,
Dominique's image as a defender of human rights kept growing. An agronomist
by profession, he understood the plight of the peasants, who became his most
loyal followers.

Demme met Dominique during a visit to Haiti in 1991 to make a documentary.
When he heard that Dominique was living in exile in New York a few years
later, he began the interviews that resulted in this unique portrait.

Thin and gaunt, a habitual pipe-smoker, a man who spoke with his hands and
eyes as eloquently as with his mouth, clearly intelligent and honest,
Dominique comes off foremost as a Haitian determined to help his country
succeed. He broke a rule of journalism by taking sides with Aristide, but
when Aristide started making ''gifts'' to the rich, he didn't hesitate to
ask the president about them. Their friendship cooled off.

At Dominique's side is his wife, partner and collaborator, Michelle Montas,
also interviewed by Demme. She is also Haitian, with a master's degree in
journalism from Columbia University. She obviously was the light in
Dominique's life; the pair was first attracted by a mutual love of film.
Dominique was assassinated in 2000 along with a colleague from the station.

In 2004, after so many attempts at democracy, we know Haiti is not better
off. The Agronomist reminds us of previous events in the country's history,
as told by a Haitian who impresses us as someone honestly looking for
nothing more than peace.

Director: Jonathan Demme

Producers: Jonathan Demme, Peter Saraf, Bevin McNamara

In English, French and Creole, with English translations. Running time: 90
minutes. Playing at: Regal South Beach, AMC Aventura, Regal Shadowood,
Sunrise Cinemas, UA Boynton 9


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