Rate this Movie 
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:48
Fresh:41
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: Black Gold is an eye-opening account of the winners and losers in the global coffee trade.
Theatrical Release:Oct 6, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: In an increasingly global economy, where the profit margins of huge multinational coffee companies continue to rise, prices paid for coffee harvests have reached an all-time low, forcing farmers in... [More]
Director: Mark Francis, Nick Francis
The premise powerfully postulated here is that not only Ethiopians, but millions and millions of other Africans are suffering due to the paltry prices paid by big business for natural resources which most people from developed countries take for granted.
Punctuated by long shots of foggy mountainsides as well as very close shots of glistening green coffee beans on the tree, the film makes its argument with the help of an evocative score by Andreas Kapsalis.
Economic repression by competitive market forces is a systemic injustice in this corner of the marketplace.
... a by turns poetic and hard-hitting critique of the global coffee industry ...
The lesson is clear: The system is broken and needs repair, and educating consumers is part of the solution.
A beautifully made film that takes time to observe the beauties (and horrors) of its world.
Click to read the article
A hard-hitting documentary in support of Fair Trade focusing on the tireless efforts of a manager of a coffee grower's cooperative in Ethiopia to get members more money for their labors.
More dynamism and knowledge in the telling and fewer cheap shots at young Starbucks workers in Seattle wouldn’t have gone amiss.
This is a documentary that gets a lot across while avoiding cliches and easy exploitation, even in famine-ravaged places where more horrific images must have abounded.
"Black Gold" also finds cause for optimism in its connections, showing how if Western coffee drinkers make the right choices at their end, they can positively affect the African growers at the other.
Guaranteed to make you think twice about what you're paying for what you're drinking.
Top CriticAlthough some scenes register with strong impact, there also seems to be a lot of padding, and the overall narrative is ultimately too diffused and unfocused for the film to have the sociological impact it so obviously desires.
Black Gold is more an Al Gore-style message of hope than a total downer.
Top CriticThe film serves as a valuable explanation of the ways in which the cultivation and exportation of a particular crop can affect the welfare of fragile countries.
A mesmerizing documentary illuminating the human element in one corner of modern global trade.
A dry but enlightening documentary.
Meskela's is a story worth tackling again -- but without the over-caffeinated approach.
It almost makes you want to be forced to spend six bucks for a latte.
Compared to a documentary like Darwin's Nightmare, which found disturbing visual analogues for the moral rot of global trade, Black Gold makes most of its points in words, not pictures.
MSN Movies offers a little background on the success of Disney Animation.
TIME takes a look back at the history of vampires on film.
Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.
AOL put together a list of 10 recent news items that would be perfect as TV Movies.
Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill explores how remakes and reboots have warped our thinking.
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN.com |
GameSpy |
Comrade |
Arena |
FilePlanet |
GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox |
Planets |
Vaults |
VE3D |
CheatsCodesGuides |
GameStats |
GamerMetrics
AskMen.com |
Rotten Tomatoes |
Direct2Drive |
Green Pixels
IGN RSS Feeds
Comment
