"Sugar Cane Alley", "Sinners", a masterclass on humanizing Black people
“Yé Krik!”
“Yé Krak!”
“Yé Mistikrik”
“Yé Mistikrak”
“Is the court asleep?”
“No, the court is not sleeping.”
“If the court doesn't sleep, it's Isidor who sleeps, in Theodore's court for two golden pennies!”
“Krik!”
“Krak!”
When I was at the book club celebrating the 1st anniversary of Maryse Condé's death, Maboula Soumahouro asked Agnès Cornélie from the Calypso bookshop to open the session with the storyteller's formula. Connoisseurs responded, and we began to talk about how we discovered Maryse Condé. After the break, the storyteller's formula brought us back into the MCU (the Maryse Condé Universe). It was then that a young woman shyly asked why we started with this formula which she didn’t know, even though she was from the French West Indies. I'm glad she felt comfortable enough to ask, and that there was no mockery. An audience member explained this cultural point immortalized by Euzhan Palcy in her film “Rue Cases-Nègres” [t/n: Sugar Cane Alley (1)].
With the almost simultaneous releases of Nelson Foix's “ZION” and Jean-Claude Barny's “Fanon” in France, there's a discourse about a “renaissance of French West Indian cinema” that leaves me puzzled. First of all, as I said in the 4th anniversary episode of Karukerament, there hasn't been a year since 2021 when I haven't gone at least once to see a Caribbean film in a movie theater in France. If we're going to talk about a renaissance, it shouldn’t start in 2025. When I listen to/read the discussions of 2024/2025, I no longer hear the enthusiasm that the name of Euzhan Palcy provoked among the Caribbean filmmakers I've had the opportunity to interview in Karukerament since 2020 [tribute to Euzhan Palcy]. Only among non-French speakers do I still hear “Rue Cases-Nègres” evoked with the tenderness and admiration to which I was accustomed. Just this April 24th, film students from the University of the West Indies discussed how they felt connected to this film that the English-speaking Caribbean considers a classic.
I'd even go so far as to say that the French discourse on Euzhan Palcy borders on the condescension that Zouk has been the victim of in France for the last twenty years [episodes on Zouk to listen to 1 and 2; articles to read 1 and 2]. Whether in music, cinema or literature, where American and African artists draw on their 20th-century culture to create and passionately explain the whys and wherefores of this choice, the majority of our artists from Guadeloupe and Martinique refuse to use those who have brilliantly succeeded before them as references. And if indeed these are references for them, their discourse in their interviews reflects more an indifference than an honor to be associated with those who came before them. I don't understand this refusal to subscribe to local traditions on the pretext that “yes, it was good, but that was before”, “yes, it was good, but that's in the past”, “yes, it was good, but I can’t really relate”. When do we discuss at length what's good about our cultures without adding a “but” behind it? Beyond the simple question of personal sensitivity linked to each person's unique personality and life experience, what are our own standards on assessing originality or continuity of representation in an artistic work? And it's while listening to French analyses of Ryan Coogler's “Sinners” that I realized how “Rue Cases-Nègres”, which is an adaptation of the novel by Joseph Zobel, is invisibilized from French cinematic references.
Where American reviewers who know their history, however superficially, see the depth of the cultural, spiritual and religious references in “Sinners”, the French reviewers see it, at best, as a good vampire film, at worst, as a film with a fine allegory on racism without understanding Mary or the motivations of Irish Remmick. The humanity of the Black characters is not analyzed beyond the usual codes. The French view is limited to the representation of the Black community, which has been economically and culturally vampirized for centuries, or to the representation of the deadly sins... This is why I’m here with a Karukerament reading of “Sinners” through “Rue Cases-Nègres”. This is not a criticism of artistic quality. It's about highlighting the method to humanize Black characters in a past context connected to our present by playing with the colonial filter.
Where the colonial filter only gives importance to Black people’s suffering, anger or rebellion against the colonial order, these two films are based first and foremost on the dreams, joys, smiles and longing for intimacy, for human connection of these characters. In short, multidimensional human beings who breathe life, even in death.
Disclaimer: This is a Karukerament analysis i.e. the characters are at the center. The article can be understood without the spoilers in square brackets to be highlighted. My aim is to highlight how the French gaze would have a better understanding of the subtleties of “Sinners” if it had already integrated the representation of a post-slavery society like in the film “Rue Cases-Nègres”.
contextualizing society from the Black perspective
In “Rue Cases-Nègres”, Euzhan Palcy sets out to contextualize Black people in the Martinique society of the 1930s. In “Sinners”, Ryan Coogler sets out to contextualize Black people in the American society of the 1930s. Whether in Martinique or in the United States, it hadn't been a century since slavery had been officially abolished. Characters like José and his teacher have never experienced legal slavery, just like Sammie and Delta Slim. They are only two or three generations removed from those born before abolition. In these two films, we see the paradoxes of a society in the throes of redefinition. The dynamics between Black people and White people are clearly illustrated, without victimizing the Black characters. Love does not erase race or the taboo that these relationships represented at the time. Moreover, the cliché of the tragic mulatto is reinterpreted.
In “Rue Cases-Nègres”, Léopold seeks to help the workers at the risk of his own life. Instead of carrying the Black part of his mixed race as a burden, or thinking of himself as White, Léopold puts his privilege at the service of the Black community. This is also what Mary tries to do in “Sinners”, with all the consequences that entail ... Those who know, know
].In “Sinners”, there is even an illustration of the exploitation of prisoners as another form of slavery
]. This is why money is at the heart of the main characters' preoccupations, as they aspire to a life other than this taxing life.Dreaming of a better life
In “Rue Cases-Nègres”, Man Tine makes sure José goes to school, while the other children in the dwelling are sent to harvest sugar canes. In “Sinners”, Smoke and Stack, once mobsters, open a juke joint but refuse to let their little cousin Sammie follow in their footsteps
]. “Rue Cases-Nègres” marks the differences between rural life, urban life and life in the Metropole. Between his friends Léopold and Carmen, little José discovers the opportunities offered by a world where class and race collide. Because of segregation, Black communities developed independently. “Sinners” recalls the existence of these communities, some of which were so flourishing that they were wiped off the map. The Tulsa massacre in 1921 and the Rosewood massacre in 1923 are contemporary events for the characters. So, while each character's vision of the “good life” differs, the dream is possible. However, they can't see themselves living it without their community.Building a community through cultural transmission
In “Rue Cases-Nègres” and “Sinners”, happiness is a joint project in the literal sense of the word. It's happiness built in community. The well-being of loved ones is at the heart of all discussions and important decisions in these films. We see Black people loving each other in the moment. The grandmotherly love of José/Man Tine in “Rue Cases-Nègres” and the brotherly love of Smoke/Stack in “Sinners” are connected to the rest of their community. The Sammie/Delta Slim relationship reminded me of the José/Médouze relationship, where we see a young man imbibing the wisdom of an experienced man damaged by the system but still standing tall. This act of transmission between characters echoes the filmmakers' act of transmission through their films.
“Rue Cases-Nègres” and ‘Sinners’ are an ode to Black cultures. We see the characters live their culture in joy and sorrow, without ever denying it. Thanks to his grandmother, to Médouze and to his community, José is ready to face life because he isn’t ashamed of where he comes from. Where the colonial filter demonizes music and spirituality with African roots, these two films show how these elements helped the descendants of slaves to form a community. Smoke’s incredulity toward Annie’s spirituality reminded me of Léopold’s incredulity toward the magic/religious tales his classmates believed in. (2) “Sinners” goes even further, interweaving Irish (the character of Remmick) and Chinese (the characters of Bo and Grace Chow) cultures. The representation of the Indian community is not central to “Rue Cases-Nègres”, although it could have been, given that the descendants of Indian indentured workers were not granted French citizenship until 1923. This blind spot in the cinema of Guadeloupe and Martinique is all the more visible when compared with the cinema of Trinidad & Tobago, one of whose classics is “Bim” (1974) which, like “Rue Cases-Nègres”, is a coming-of-age film except that the main character is an Indo-Trinidadian teenager. Nevertheless, the exploration of the representation of the Indian or Asian community as a whole in Guadeloupe and Martinique cinemas has begun, as can be seen in Kichena's feature film “Nonm” (2024).
“Rue Cases-Nègres” and ‘Sinners’ remind us that cultural roots deserve to be respected and honored. These Afrodescendant cultures born in slave societies are not just folklore to be concealed or even scorned at the slightest outside criticism. The very existence of these cultures is our first act of self-affirmation, of self-determination to feel human. Their purpose is not limited to fighting who knows who. Indeed, what would be the raison d'être of cultural elements envisaged solely as tools of resistance if there were no longer any struggle to be waged? José's Yé Krik Krak, the songs of the sugar cane workers when they express their joy or sorrow, or Sammie's blues reflect Black cultures that exist for themselves, without seeking to please or confront an outside eye. You can see the joy it brings them in those moments when they exist for themselves and feel in alignment with their past and present.
In conclusion...
“Rue Cases-Nègres” and ‘Sinners’ are a masterclass in the humanization of Black characters. The focus is not on the (legitimate) rage caused by the injustices of systemic racism. Despite the difference in film genre, era of creation and storytelling (3), these two films show how to portray Black characters as human beings who just want to live, and who draw their strength from their community, from their culture. There is no hierarchy between cultures. Cultural exchanges are possible without being erased. The choice to practice, sublimate or pass on a culture remains an individual one, which cinema can facilitate by archiving bits of said culture. The strength of a cultural contribution lies not in being the first, but in becoming a link in an unbreakable chain (pun intended) because you feel connected to what was done before and you know you don’t stand alone.
Reading/listening to the enthusiasm of African-American reviewers for “Sinners”, highlighting the cultural symbolism, reminded me of the pleasure of writing my first analysis of “L’homme au bâton, une légende créole” by Christian Lara or my anticipation to analyze “Siméon” by Euzhan Palcy. Films where our existence is defined by more than our ability to revolt or make people laugh. Films that capture our moments of life in the midst of survival.
1 I couldn’t find much academic research on “Sugar Cane Alley” in English online. "Sugar Cane Alley": Re-reading Race, Class and Identity In Zobel's "La rue cases nègres" by Haseenah Ebrahim (2002). I think the English-speaking world is more interested in reading her films through a feminist and/or panafricanist perspective.
Euzhan Palcy: Resistance and Empowerment through Film by Elizabeth Johnson and Donald Culverson (2018) ; the first-ever, one-day Cine-symposium devoted to Euzhan Palcy’s cinematic work held at Princeton University in 2025
2 Euzhan Palcy's fictional films set in the French overseas colonies/departments are all marked by a respect for ancestral spirituality. A representation with no judgment, with no colonial filter.
3 Let’s nuance that storytelling take. I'd be tempted to say that what Western critics describe as slowness and confusion of genres is appreciated in non-Western storytelling... Those who know, know.
4 I'm not talking about whether it's a good film or not. I'm talking about analyzing the cultural symbolism in what this film sheds light on Guadeloupean society past, present and future.