Sugarcane is a documentary film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024.
The topic of this film is the First Nations of Canada and the residential school system with special focus on St Joseph Mission School in British Columbia
Sugarcane is the common name of Williams Lake Indian Reserve for indigenous people not far from St Joseph Mission School.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Directors: Julian Brave Noisecat and Emily Kassie
** Distribution: National Geographic Channel
** Language: English
** Subtitles: English
** Run time: 107 minutes
Several persons are featured in this film.
Here are the names of the participants.
Listed in alphabetical order:
** Charlene Belleau
** Anna Lois Lynn Gilbert
** Rick Gilbert
** Louis Lougen
** Julian Brave Noisecat
** Ed Archie Noisecat
** Chief Willie Sellars
** Whitney Spearing
What do reviewers say about this film?
Here are some results:
** 74 percent = IMDb
** 90 percent = Meta
** 86 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
** 100 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
Eighteen user reviews are posted on IMDb.
Most of them are positive:
** One reviewer offers 60 percent
** Two reviewers offer 70 percent
** Two reviewers offer 80 percent
** Eleven reviewers offer 100 percent
Only two reviews are negative:
Both offer only 10 percent. According to these reviewers, the film is based on a big lie. These negative reviews do not seem convincing. They will be ignored.
I understand the numerous positive reviews, which offer ratings of 80 or 90 or even 100 percent. But I cannot agree with them.
The topic is important.
The story deserves to be told, but I cannot offer a positive rating just because the topic is important and just because the story deserves to be told.
I agree with two of the 18 user reviews.
The first one offers a rating of 60 percent.
The headline says:
“Very important subject, not masterfully done”
This reviewer says:
“Despite its noble intentions and the significance of the subject matter, this film falls short of delivering a masterful narrative with some repetitive scenes.
“The pacing felt uneven, with certain segments dragging on while others lack sufficient depth.”
The second one offers a rating of 70 percent.
The headline says:
“Feel bad for all indigenous people”
This reviewer says, “this documentary did not help me to understand their experience. It was poorly done in my opinion.”
These critical observations are very precise.
This film lacks a clear focus.
The directors want to cover an investigation of what happened at St Joseph Mission School in British Columbia, but they use a lot of time on aspects which are secondary to the main topic.
This film is neither great nor good. It is average. It deserves a rating of three stars (60 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System, 1879 to 1986
By John S. Milloy
(1999 = first edition)
(2017 = second edition)
This Benevolent Experiment: Indigenous Boarding Schools, Genocide, and Redress in Canada and the United States
By Andrew John Woolford
(2015)
Residential Schools and Reconciliation:
Canada Confronts its History
By J. R. Miller
(2017)
# 2. Film and video
We Were children
(2012)
Pour toi, Flora
English title: Dear Flora
(2022)
# 3. The following items are available online
Joe Leydon
“Sugarcane Review: Enlightening and infuriating look into systematic abuse at an Indian residential school,”
Variety
31 January 2024
Peter Bradshaw
“Sugarcane review - trauma and truth unearthed in indigenous children’s schools scandal,”
The Guardian
18 September 2024
*****
St Joseph Mission School
British Columbia, Canada
This school was a part of
the residential school network
from 1891 to 1981
*****
Students in front of
St Joseph Mission School
British Columbia, Canada
This picture was taken around 1943
*****
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