Sugar is an affecting drama about a young Dominican baseball prospect who gets his chance in the American minor-league system. There, he runs into challenges — the language barrier, cultural differences, injuries, homesickness — that threaten to derail him not only as a player but as a man. Accordingly, this film by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck is more immigrant story than baseball movie, leisurely in pace but rich in detail and atmosphere. The acting, from newcomer Algenis Perez Soto on down, is hard to tell from real life.
The cinematography sharply delineates the differences in the film's settings, from the Dominican Republic to Iowa to the Bronx. The Blu-ray Disc nails all of this with crystal clarity, and without distracting us from the story. About the same can be said for the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound, whose key virtues are atmosphere and clarity of dialogue. Extras are minimal: a making-of piece that barely scratches the surface, an interview short, a screen test, and a few deleted scenes. Download Sugar full movie (DVD,DivX,iPod,PDA)
