Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Benas Mcloughlin Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

bob the moo If I may begin with a quote from The Wire I will because, when considering this film the phrase "all the pieces matter" did come to my mind. The film presents itself as another in a recent line of documentaries that very much appeal to people of my demographic because it puts an unacceptable situation in front of us and challenges the way we live our lives and allow our lives to be lived. In the case of Black Gold, the subject is coffee and, as a "fair trade" buyer of some time I was looking to have my opinion of the subject informed.The structure of the film looks at coffee in Ethiopia, Seattle, London and so on as it paints a picture of situation where what the growers get paid is a shameful pittance compared to the amount the western coffee drinker would pay for even a home-made cup from granules. It should be shockingly compelling stuff and I was astonishing to find that it was not at all like this. It is maybe a failing in the structure because the makers seem to have had great access to the subject through Tadessa Meskela, who leads a cooperative of Ethiopian coffee farmers. This does mean that we spend too much time at his level and seeing things with his eyes, which works but is not the best way of carrying the film. Of course this needs to be part of it but it is almost the all.What it badly needed was a much wider view. OK the corporations unsurprisingly did not wish to take part in this film but it badly needs some evidence of them and their role in the pricing. Without this focus the film doesn't really offer many answers or present a driver for the terrible situations it lets us see. To some viewers I'm sure this will be praise worthy because a documentary need not be about emotion and banging a drum but this does not mean it needs to be lacking in heart just because it is not a Michael Moore polemic. The lack of heart does not come from the subject but rather the delivery; it is a bit all over the place and I'm not entirely sure what some section were designed to achieve – a tasting in Starbucks seems like time wasted in an already short run time.Overall then this is a so-so film but given the subject and the plight of the growers, even the kindest viewer would admit this film is more missed potential than delivery. Positive reviews tend to praise it for its intension and I do not begrudge them this. The proof though, is in the pudding and that is where the film should be judged. Sadly it is poorly structure and doesn't ever get a handle on the subject in a way that isn't that compelling or challenging – and considering everything that is a shocking failure.

movedout If you didn't already know that coffee is big business, then Nick and Mark Francis's documentary should hammer that fact in. "Black Gold" could have quite easily become another impassioned and reckless rail against globalisation but you get the sense that the brothers kept their eyes on the numbers, and directed from their head and not their hearts. Therein lies the film's main problem – facts are boring. It's neither harrowing nor heartfelt. The documentary is bluntly informative of the disparate levels in income of the Ethiopian farmers and the corporations that buy the beans from them on the cheap, and it's quite competent in enlightening consumers of the buried cost of a $5 latte. And on that level, it succeeds. Somewhat admirably, they lionise the Ethiopian people, both the underpaid farmers and the ones who refuse to partake in the hopeless work. But you can also observe that the Francis brothers were hoping for something more from their primary subject, Tadesse Meskela, a high-level representative from the Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union. The directors do place him on a pedestal for most of the film, even to the extent of including an embarrassingly effusive interview from Meskela's wife as the man proudly looks on.

DICK STEEL When you sip on that aromatic cup of coffee, do you think about where it all comes from? 2 billion cups of coffee are consumed on an average day, and I'm sure many of us have contributed our daily cuppas to that statistic as shared by the documentary Black Gold by Marc and Nick Francis. From the ordinary black coffee at the local coffeeshop, to gourmet, fanciful concoctions at the nearest Starbucks (there's this new banana mix in town now), Black Gold takes you on a journey of the world's coffee trade, from the consumers right down to the farmers who toil their fields to give us those beans.But who makes the most out of this trade? The multicorporations of course, fingered and identified in this film as money grabbers. We are taken on a tour of the vast coffee fields in Ethiopia, and Tadesse Meskela is our guide, as he shows us the conditions that the farmers have to work with, and the meagre amounts of money they are making to make ends meet, while the rest of the world gulps our coffee, parting with a few dollars while they make less than a cent. The demand and supply mechanics seem to be imbalanced, no doubt with prices made artificially high on the commodities trader market in New York and London, with none trickling down to the tail end for the suppliers.Tadesse Meskela's objective is to band the farmers around a co-operative so as to be able to negotiate better prices. They're not on a mission to make prices rocket, but just a few dollars more would improve the livelihood of the farmers tremendously, and to enable their children to have decent education. It's also about the attempts to remove the multi-layered middleman chain (up to 6 links), and I've always been a proponent to eradicate the middle sections because unless they value add, there's no point swelling the pockets of those who does what I deem a "postman's job".There are a few points which provides starking contrasts between the haves and have nots. What I thought was sly, was the showcasing of Starbucks, its first outlet and its star performers raving about how much opportunity they have etc, versus the source of Starbuck's coffee from Ethiopia, where massive famine is experienced by those in that region. I guess in a capitalist world, those who have money will continue to exploit, and will continue doing so as long as the bottomline is not affected.However, Black Gold lacked that strike in that emotional chord. It's pure "here's the problem" without offering much, loaded with clinical facts and figures printed on screen. While it showed how difficult the folks down the supply chain are having, that's basically it. We're the clueless consumers as depicted in the documentary who couldn't care less, and that basically summed it up, given its lack of that final sucker punch to ring the message home.

brlancer I watched this film tonight in an advance screening at Georgia Tech. The documentary follows a cooperative in Oromia, Ethiopia and its attempts to gain a better price for its farmers. Contrasting the rich urban life of the consumer with the impoverished rural life of the producer, the truth is staggering: The premium price paid by consumers at the counter goes almost entirely to corporations and only pennies on the dollar to the farmer. The farmers don't seek luxuries or to extort consumers, only to be paid and treated fairly and equitably, to dull the edge on their harsh lifestyle. The larger plight of Africans is broached as is world trade of Third World exports. It was extremely refreshing that there was no attempt to preach nor use emotional tricks as are found in many large release documentaries, instead allowing the facts to speak for themselves. This dryness adds both to its authenticity and its credibility.Unfortunately, no film is perfect. The filmmakers criticize Starbucks for not purchasing Ethiopian fair trade coffee without the context that the company is one of the few purchasers of fair trade coffee from Central and South America. While their actions can improve, they are significantly ahead of other companies with whom they compete. Also, the film displays too many scenes without the context required: "What are we seeing?" The story is an important one but more depth could have been given and a larger spotlight shone on the participants. Even with these flaws, it is a very worthwhile documentary and may give people their first glimpses into the world outside their borders.7 out of 10: Truth is vicious when you are guarded by lies.