Once upon a time, in art house movie theater in Cambridge, I saw a preview for a movie called "Sugar." I knew immediately I wanted to see it, but didn't get around to it until this week (thank you, Netflix).
"Sugar" is the story of Miguel, nick named Azucar (Spanish for sugar), a young man in the Dominican Republic looking to make a life for himself by being drafted into the MLB in the United States.
The film follows Miguel from his life as hometown hero, to becoming a star in his local baseball academy, to his first U.S. team in Bridgetown, IA. The most compelling portion of the film is when Miguel lives in Iowa with a devoutly religious, white family who does not speak a word of Spanish. It was difficult to watch Miguel's isolation, a factor in this process most people never think about it.
I don't want to spoil the ending to this incredible story, but I will say, you will leave feeling like your eyes have been opened, especially if you take the time to watch the special features on the DVD.
The special features include a behind the scenes look at casting the movie (the American directors hired all Dominican actors and filmed locally in the DR), the initial audition of Algenis Perez Soto who plays Miguel, as well as an amazing set of interviews from the Dominican National Film Festival where the movie was screened.
At the film festival several Dominican professional baseball players were interviewed about the movie - Pedro Martinez (you learn his first team was in Montana), Sammy Sosa, Robinson Cano and David Ortiz. It was incredible to hear how this film moved them, and helped them to feel that the world was finally going to understand the rocky road they traveled to become international sports stars.
This is a fantastic movie for baseball fans. "Sugar" is a truly candid look at the experiences of young Dominican men looking to pursue a career on an American baseball team. You will be touched, surprised an enlightened.
