The Agronomist

The life of Jean Dominique, a Haitian broadcaster and human rights activist whose radio station acted as an almost solitary voice of the masses from the 1960s-2000 (spanning the presidencies from the notorious Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier through the first two terms of Jean-Bertrand Aristide), is the subject of this revealing documentary by Oscar winner Jonathan Demme. The film takes its title from Dominique's original profession, abandoned after he returned from France with a degree but was prevented from working with the poor due to government restrictions. Dominique eventually purchased Haiti Inter, the station that became--under his cautious but firm leadership--the chief opponent of the regime's brutal authoritarianism and a proponent of democratic reform, which led to repeated periods of exile for Dominique before he was finally assassinated in 2000. Despite the unhappy ending to the story, The Agronomist isn't downbeat overall, thanks to the infectious personality of the slender Dominique, whose ebullience is matched only by his courage. Combining interviews together with archival footage and newsreels, this admirable, moving portrait of a dissident is recommended. (F. Swietek)