Filled with infectious energy, Ben Patterson’s Sweet Micky for President is a fascinating take on Haiti’s most recent presidential election.

The story is fairly biased towards Michael “Sweet Micky” Martelly, (the focus never explicitly states why Martelly could make a good president, other than that he is “for the people”), but with a rollicking soundtrack and a general state of “Is this happening?”, (wait until Sean Penn and Ben Stiller show up, as well as an extended sequence in Canada), there is little need.

The moral of the film is perhaps that Martelly is a jumping off point and that the story of fair electoral practices in Haiti still to be discovered.

In the meantime, the images at play are compelling, as it’s the rare film, especially for a documentary, where there is a fun sense of enthusiasm and being swept along with the crowd. We can only imagine the cheers that will erupt in the theatre.

Sweet Micky for President presents a noticeable kowtowing to Fugee Pras Michel, who perhaps even masterminded the idea of inspiring Martelly to run in the first place. Sequences with Michel’s estranged cousin Wyclef Jean seem almost surreal. But ultimately, the film wins over members of the audience, and for this reason, the film is really worth your vote.

[star v=45]