Credited cast: | |||
Gaite Jansen | ... | Sarith | |
Neil Sandilands | ... | Reinder Almersma | |
Werner Kolf | |||
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Anna Raadsveld | ... | Elza |
Kees Boot | ... | Julius Robles Medina | |
Carel Nel | ... | Von Beunekom | |
Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing | ... | Mini-Mini | |
Benja Bruijning | ... | Nathan | |
Yannick van de Velde | |||
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Deirdre Wolhuter | ... | (as Deidre Wolhuter) |
Daniel Janks | ... | Father Nassy | |
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Jaap Spijkers | ||
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Bart Klever | ||
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Negativ | ||
Genelva Krind |
The Price Of Sugar tells the alternately gripping, romantic and heart-wrenching story of Sarith and Mini-Mini as they grow up on the sugar plantations of Suriname in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Where Sarith is the most beautiful woman in the colony, the mulatto Mini-Mini is forever in her shadow, slave to her own half-sister. Written by Anonymous
"Hoe Duur Was De Suiker" offers a peek into a dark part of Dutch history; it is the 18th century in Surinam, former colony of the Netherlands, where wealthy white families keep black slaves to work in their houses or on their fields. Little rich girl Sarith grows up in luxury, with her own slave Mini-Mini by her side. As Sarith and Mini-Mini grow older, their different societal positions as slave-owner and slave is what both binds and separates them.
This film could have been a great way to make Dutch audiences aware about the history of slavery and move them with the main storyline. Although the scenery, decor and costumes are beautiful and credible, the plot, script and acting is anything but convincing. The shallow storyline makes it hard for the viewer to relate to the main characters and the overall story. This also has to do with flimsy lines and bad acting (especially Gaite Jansen) - which sometimes looked surprisingly clumsy in comparison to the detailed and polished backgrounds. Unfortunately, this film fails to convince and to move, and thereby misses a great opportunity to produce a film worthy of incorporating into Dutch film canon.