3 reviews
I lived in PNG for four years and have a house up in the Mt. Hagen area which is where the documentary was filmed. Therefore, I am in a position to say that this is simply a brilliant piece of work that captures the life and culture of an amazing group of people. During the last millennium, time appears to have stood still here while the rest of the world has moved through the progressive technological ages. There is a lot of black humour in the documentary with some seriously funny scenes and yet it highlights some very real and serious issues. What other documentary will show live coverage of a full scale tribal warfare of warriors armed with bows and arrows? Anybody can enjoy this documentary and I really recommend it because PNG is truly the land of the unexpected.
This film is possibly the best documentary that I have ever seen. I do not think that the people who made it ever had any idea of how complex their story would end up becoming. And the fact that the camera just happened to be where the action was and filming over at least a five year period is amazing. I do not want to say anymore about the film just that if you can ever get the chance to see it, and you like documentary films, you should really try to see it. From a technical standpoint I am sure that it is not without some flaws, however it ends up being a brilliant and honest commentary on many complex levels of human suffering and greed and even world trade. And I really think that they just thought they were going to make a film about coffee.