'The Agronomist'
Radio free Haiti

AS THOUSANDS OF international peacekeepers try to settle the unrest in Haiti, filmmaker Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs) aptly releases The Agronomist, a documentary about late Haitian radio journalist Jean Dominique. The story is a sadly familiar one: a voice of resistance decries political oppression and is snuffed out by the powers that be. Momentous as his death was, Dominique is only one of several Haitian journalists who were assassinated or brutalized for broadcasting their opinions. Demme intertwines Dominique's struggle for democracy with a recent political history of Haiti, bringing us up to speed on the unrest, corruption, and violence that have been choking the country for decades. Several interviews with Dominique, recorded between 1993 and 1994, provide a personal touch to the documentary's chronological backbone. On camera, the journalist delivers with mesmerizing bravado, exposing the atrocities of Haiti's previous dictators ("Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier) and the United States' less-than-helpful military rule. Surviving threats and long periods of exile, Dominique continued to voice his opinions on the radio waves until his murder in 2000. And as of now, it's still a losing battle. The journalist's wife, Michèle Montas, narrowly escaped assassination in 2002. Dominique's station, Radio Haiti Inter, has remained off the air since last year, when persistent threats forced Montas to shut down all broadcasts. Consequently, Demme's own frustration often surfaces as a weighty us-versus-them tone; if you're looking for objective discourse, The Agronomist isn't your movie. But since the film comes as indigent Haitians prepare for their fifth government in 20 years, remaining neutral is an understandable challenge. (Dave Kim)