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I am not a fan of sports movies, let alone baseball movies. There's something about the predictable trajectory of a hero who 'overcomes all odds' that just makes me cringe. So it was with some reluctance that I slotted in the only choice left to me the other night: Sugar, the story of a baseball player from the Dominican Republic who struggles to make it to the major league in the United States. Let's just say there was something about the typo-laden blurb at the back that convinced me to take a second look.
I didn't regret it. From the very beginning, Sugar radiates a gritty authenticity. Whether it's in the sports academy where Miguel 'Sugar' Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) is honing his skills, or the run-down, lively neighbourhood outside San Pedro where he dreams of making the big time with his family, it's clear directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have done their research (it helps that most of the dialogue here is in Spanish!).