"Rue Cases Negres" (Sugar Cane Alley) Starring Garry Cadenat

"Rue Cases Negres" (Sugar Cane Alley) is a film about hope in the midst of a field of hopelessness. Garry Cadenat stars as Jose, a poor but gifted black boy growing up in the 1930s in the French town of Riviere Salee in Martinique. His mother has died, so he lives with his grandmother, an elderly woman who spends all day working in the sugarcane fields of a rich plantation owner.

Slavery has been abolished, but the former slaves are still forced to work the plantations of their former owners. The only difference is that the bosses are no longer allowed to beat their workers. The workers are paid a salary, but it is so meager that they are permanently kept in abject poverty. The children spend their days playing in the village without any type of schooling or supervision. This lack of discipline comes to a head one day when the children are able to filch a bottle of rum, and in the process of getting drunk, they manage to burn down one of the huts in the village.

The plantation owner decides that since they are needing more workers for the fields, then putting the children to work will solve multiple problems. Jose's grandmother won't allow him to work harvesting the sugarcane. It is a backbreaking job she has toiled at all her life, and she has no desire to see her grandson end up in the same situation as her. She has better hopes for him.

Even without a school or teachers, the bright Jose has managed to learn how to read and write, even teaching some adults these skills. Jose's grandmother manages to have him move to another town that has a school. He lives with a friend of his grandmother who has him do chores around the house to help pay for his room and board. It is soon evident that the woman is more interested in his chores than his schooling, so Jose and his grandmother must design other plans to complete his education.

Their only other option is to enroll him in a boarding school in Fort-de-France, the capital. Jose is able to pass the entrance exams with ease, but his grandmother has no way of paying the expensive tuition and room-and-board. She has had to fight for everything all her life, and she isn't about to give up now. Will Jose be able to get a much needed education, or is he doomed to a life in the sugar cane fields? This is a great story of hope and perseverance that is not to be missed.

Christian Jentz is a world traveler who has visited nine different countries, and has lived in three. His travels have taken him to seven countries in Europe, one in North America, and one in Asia. He is an avid film buff, and through his travels has developed a love for foreign movies. He has written several articles, as well as contributed to several blogs for http://bluecowboyfilms.com. He speaks English, Spanish, and Chinese. He currently resides in China where he is an English instructor.

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