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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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$9.99
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Goodbye Solo
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Tulpan
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Gomorrah
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Seraphine
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Summer Hours
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U2 3D
83
Revanche
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Tyson
82
Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
82
Sugar
82
Hunger
82
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
81
Il Divo
81
Beaches of Agnes, The
80
Food, Inc.
80
Tokyo Sonata
79
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
78
Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story, The
78
O'Horten
77
Every Little Step
77
Sin Nombre
75
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74
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74
Afghan Star
74
Two Lovers
74
Song of Sparrows, The
74
Lemon Tree
71
Pressure Cooker
71
Jerichow
70
Shall We Kiss?
70
Tony Manero
70
End of the Line, The
69
Valentino: The Last Emperor
69
Unmistaken Child
67
$9.99
67
Rudo y Cursi
67
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66
Adoration
66
Moon
65
Sex Positive
65
Departures
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Outrage
64
Examined Life
64
Throw Down Your Heart
64
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63
Tokyo!
63
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63
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63
Tetro
63
Great Buck Howard, The
62
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62
Not Forgotten
61
Sunshine Cleaning
60
Under Our Skin
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58
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58
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57
Away We Go
57
Merry Gentleman, The
57
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56
Girl from Monaco, The
56
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55
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54
Is Anybody There?
54
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54
Stoning of Soraya M., The
52
Quiet Chaos
50
Management
48
Alien Trespass
45
Whatever Works
42
Little Ashes
42
Tennessee
40
Limits of Control, The
40
Paris 36
38
Gigantic
36
Life is Hot in Cracktown
35
New York
28
Big Shot-Caller, The
28
Surveillance
22
What Goes Up
18
Downloading Nancy
16
I Hate Valentine's Day
xx
Call of the Wild
xx
Home
xx
Offshore
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
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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