"This gentle tale of growing up poor and black in the French West Indies island of Martinique in the 1930s is told through the experiences of the 11-year-old orphan José. His wonderfully strong, pipe-smoking grandmother, M'man Tine, struggles to get him an education so that he can escape the poverty of the sugar cane plantation on which she has worked her entire life. Although he wins a scholarship to attend high school in the capital, his education is equally shaped by his experiences in Sugar Cane Alley. Life in the shantytown is beautifully detailed in sepia-tones by 28-year-old director Euzhan Palcy, who also grew up in Martinique. The injustices inherent in colonialism are subtly evoked: a kids' game is centered on searching for food, José's mulatto friend is denied his white father's name, a young man studies English so he can move to Hollywood and be a star. The most important influence on José's life is Old Meleuze whose stories of slavery and the fight for freedom open the boy's eyes to a larger world. Although he dreams of seeing Africa, Meleuze, like most of the villagers, nevers leaves Sugar Cane Alley. José, with the advantage of his education, will grow up and leave, but will return to the details of the shantytown way of life to write the novel on which the film is based." Kathy Geritz