The Price of Sugar (2007)
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70% of critics liked it
(20 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(428 ratings)
Bill Haney's muckraking documentary The Price of Sugar follows the courageous Father Christopher Hartley, a social activist Spanish priest who makes the inaugural trip to his parish in the Dominican Republic. Upon arrival, he is cautioned by his superiors to avoid traversing the sugar… More Bill Haney's muckraking documentary The Price of Sugar follows the courageous Father Christopher Hartley, a social activist Spanish priest who makes the inaugural trip to his parish in the Dominican Republic. Upon arrival, he is cautioned by his superiors to avoid traversing the sugar plantations that his parishioners call home -- even as a part of regular parish visits. Hartley ignores this admonition, and is then shocked out of his mind to discover the subhuman living conditions and environment endured by the majority of plantation residents -- the environments unsanitary, subhuman and disgusting, the working demands enough to kill any man. Hartley discovers that the residents suffer from their lack of both Dominican and Haitian citizenship -- thus, the government views it as entirely unnecessary to endow these individuals with basic human rights and to treat them with restraint, respect, and dignity. Despite the virulent protests of those in "authority," Hartley bucks governmental and corporate injunctions and begins to fight for improved living conditions for the locals. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Directed By
- Bill Haney
- Written By
- Bill Haney, Peter Rhodes
- Genres
- Documentary, Special Interest
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Sep 28, 2007 Wide
- Studio
- Mitropoulos
Critic Reviews
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Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Price of Sugar is designed to educate, outrage and finally spur viewers to action. That it does so with vibrant visual style and an engaging narrative makes it that rare consciousness-raising film that's not only good for you, but a joy to watch.
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Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
It's been conceived and executed as an instrument of human rights and a tool of shame. But it's the political controversy that's at the heart of this movie -- the contempt that one poor country feels toward its somewhat poorer neighbor.
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Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
In this compelling documentary, narrated by Paul Newman, Hartley comes off as a man of intense will, and he needs to be.
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Lael Loewenstein, Los Angeles Times
Haney doesn't strive for balance, and he doesn't have to; the images speak for themselves.
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Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Illuminating and deeply distressing.
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Cast
- Father Christopher Hartley
-
Paul Newman
as Narrator
