The reason Sugar is one of the best movies I've seen lately that's about baseball is that it concerns itself more with a real personal journey rather than yet another "by golly, we won the game!" story. The team that brought together Half Nelson to much acclaim has exceeded the expectations many would have of the followup from a breakout indie success. The authenticity of the non-professional actors meshes with a contemplative, somber script to really envelop you in the world of the Dominican ballplayers at the movie's center. This is not your average "road to being a superstar" picture by any stretch.

Miguel "Sugar" Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) is a young buck with one hell of a pitching arm. He needs to make it to the big leagues to provide for his mother and family back home. He's a caring, good son, and a good-hearted young man all around. Like so many players that go from "la isla" to the minors, the business of baseball is a very unforgiving mistress compared to what it was like for him back home. I was kept in suspense throughout due to the expectations lesser films of late have set for me. I've come to expect a cheap, jarring event to rock the world of the movie, but instead, Sugar allows the strange, far from benign world of the U.S. to wash over, soak into, and wear down "Azucar" bit by bit.

Extras include Deleted Scenes and three featurettes: Making Sugar: Run the Bases, Play Beisbol! The Dominican Dream, Casting Sugar: Interview with Algenis Perez Soto. The Blu-ray exclusively includes the Unrated Cut, but I have no idea what was cut from the theatrical version.

Sugar came out on Blu-ray and DVD last Tuesday and can be ordered from Amazon here: Blu-ray/DVD.