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82
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38
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36
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54
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49
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34
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53
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63
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71
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70
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93
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64
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47
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54
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93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
79
Iron Man
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Tropic Thunder
71
Horton Hears a Who!
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
64
Pineapple Express
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
61
Incredible Hulk, The
58
House Bunny, The
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
53
Longshots, The
52
Rocker, The
51
Mamma Mia!
50
Step Brothers
49
Hancock
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
43
Meet Dave
38
Death Race
36
Space Chimps
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
34
Happening, The
33
Mirrors
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
24
Love Guru, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

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61
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XXY
75
Young@Heart
90
Momma's Man
89
Man on Wire
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Edge of Heaven, The
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Frozen River
81
Trouble the Water
81
Tell No One
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Order of Myths, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
78
Last Mistress, The
75
Young@Heart
75
Boy A
74
Mongol
73
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Priceless
72
I.O.U.S. A
71
To the Limit
71
Transsiberian
71
Roman de gare
70
Love Songs
68
Girl Cut in Two, A
67
Jellyfish
66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
66
American Teen
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Brideshead Revisited
64
XXY
64
Fall, The
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Elegy
62
Kabluey
62
Girls Rock!
62
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
61
Bustin' Down the Door
61
Wackness, The
61
Baghead
61
Man Named Pearl, A
61
Red
61
Brick Lane
56
Hamlet 2
56
Bottle Shock
56
Then She Found Me
55
Beautiful Losers
55
Bra Boys
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
53
What We Do Is Secret
52
Elsa & Fred
52
Sixty Six
51
Savage Grace
50
Last Stop for Paul
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Before the Rains
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
44
Henry Poole is Here
39
America the Beautiful
25
Hell Ride
xx
I Served the King of England
xx
Bachna Ae Haseeno
xx
Cthulhu
xx
Beer for My Horses
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Black Gold
California Newsreel
MPAA RATING: Not Rated
In an attempt to provide a voice to the struggling farmers and laborers, this documentary examines the startling discrepancy between the skyrocketing profits of multinational coffee companies and the all-time low prices paid for coffee harvests.
| GENRE(S): |
Documentary
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Mark Francis
Nick Francis
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
Theatrical: October 6, 2006
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
78 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |
Also known as "Black Gold: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee"; Nominated, Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema - Documentary), 2006 Sundance Film Festival

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
88
TV Guide
Ken Fox
If you've never given much thought to the lives affected each time you choose one brand of coffee over another, allow this handsomely mounted documentary from British filmmakers Marc and Nick Francis to serve as a bracing, double-shot of reality.

80
Film Threat
Pete Vonder Haar
The film's effectiveness is bolstered by juxtaposed scenes of fat and happy Americans and Europeans slurping up frozen chai lattes and clucking about how big Starbuck's is getting with scenes of children going into "therapeutic feeding centers" in the region where Starbuck's gets its coffee because they can't afford to by corn.

80
Variety
Robert Koehler
The Francises are aces behind the camera, displaying an elegant sense of composition that makes their subject visually ravishing. Andreas Kapsalis' gorgeous score lends doc a grand quality.

80
Village Voice
Rob Nelson
No mere Western-guilt-inducing harangue, this highly informative documentary by British brothers Marc and Nick Francis is a model of patient storytelling.

80
The New Republic
Stanley Kauffmann
An engrossing documentary.

80
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
Beautifully shot and edited with swift efficiency, Black Gold joins a cadre of recent films that shine a welcome light on how the stuff we buy gets to us and, more to the point, how the price of that stuff often has little to do with its real cost.

80
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
Black Gold moves at an inexorable pace, painstakingly building a case until suddenly it looms very large and casts an even longer shadow.

75
Boston Globe
Janice Page
You buy "fair - trade" coffee; you assume you're being socially responsible. But now, along comes Black Gold to tell you that all fair-trade coffee is not created equal, and that Ethiopia, the "birthplace of coffee" and home of some of the world's best beans, may be getting the least fair shake of all.

75
San Francisco Chronicle
Walter Addiego
A film of stark and galling contrasts.

75
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
Guaranteed to make you think twice about what you're paying for what you're drinking.

70
Chicago Reader
J.R. Jones
Dramatically objectifies the unfair trade practices that help keep Africa mired in poverty.

70
Salon.com
Andrew O'Hehir
Black Gold is more an Al Gore-style message of hope than a total downer.

70
The New York Times
Stephen Holden
One of the most disquieting (and challenging) statistics is left for last: if Africa's share of world trade increased by only one percentage point, it would generate $70 billion a year, five times what the continent receives in aid. Who wouldn't want that?

63
New York Post
V.A. Musetto
A dry but enlightening documentary.

60
Empire
David Parkinson
While it may prompt some to think again next time they're in Starbucks, this astute insight into the coffee business is better at lauding the good guys than taking the multinationals to task for the iniquities of the global economy.

60
The Hollywood Reporter
Frank Scheck
While plenty of information is imparted in the impassioned proceedings, the film loses some impact because of its lack of a compelling structure.

58
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Bill White
There are shocking facts and supportive images, but the film lacks investigative spirit.

50
New York Daily News
Elizabeth Weitzman
Some documentaries are so well-made they transcend the nature of their subjects. This is not one of them.

50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Noel Murray
There's been a proliferation of "globalization sucks" documentaries over the past couple of years, but few have been as blunt as Black Gold.


The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
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