Film reviews from the Breckenridge Festival of Film

“Strong Coffee: The Story of Cafe Femenino.”

Documentary. 48 min. Playing at 3 p.m. Friday at the Speakeasy.

“Strong Coffee” takes two powerful social injustices — and rights them in one turn. I was first exposed to fair trade coffee and its work when the High Country Conservation Center brought the small Patagonia environmental film festival through Breckenridge last September, and I caught “Birdsong & Coffee.” Both “Birdsong & Coffee” and “Strong Coffee” address the insane fact that while here in the United States we might easily throw down 2 bucks for a cup of coffee, the farmer who grew the beans in some far off country makes less than that for a day’s wage.

In fact, in “Strong Coffee,” they point out how although the coffee market often varies — this does not affect farmers. The coffee companies stay relatively rich and the farmers stay poor.

In the film, there are people and conscious business organizations working to make a fair trade in the community of coffee growers in Peru, and at the same time, the women are becoming aware of their role in the business and community.

One woman in “Strong Coffee” notes how the men sometimes would not come back from the market with very much money after a harvest, having spent it at the bar. She also noted how girls’ educations were often sacrificed in tight money times.

Through meetings, the women came to realize they had the capabilities to grow and sell the coffee themselves. With the help of the nongovernment organizations, they created the brand name Cafe Femenino, through which they sell coffee they grew on their own land.



With the money in the women’s hands, “Strong Coffee” shows that the women have more self-esteem, along with plans to educate their children, including daughters, and put their money back into the community structure. It is apparent through this film that something magical happens when several grassroots and well-meaning groups intertwine and work together.

“Critical Condition.”

Documentary. 83 min. Playing at 3 p.m. on Friday at the Town Hall Amphitheatre and Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Breckenridge Theatre.

“Critical Condition” both inspired me and drove me to walk away before the end.

Modern health care excludes holistic modalities of treatment. This realization came up in me during the movie and seems inextricably connected to the current crisis — the inspiring part. Watching people with integrity suffer at the hands of a virtually unseen enemy was the part that drove me to leave before the conclusion.

It’s a numbers game in “Critical Condition” as facts roll on the screen like the amount Americans currently spend on health care is enough to cover every American. The stats go on and many are supported by a true story.

Stories like a man choosing to cut off his foot instead of getting treatments over the long run because he’s trying to work the system — get the treatment while he’s got a job and get over it in time to get back to work and get insurance. Guess what — it doesn’t go as planned.

Soon the man is jobless, without insurance and with a high need for medical care. Another shows a man who is self-medicating without seeing a doctor. He nearly dies before learning that the medication is causing internal bleeding. He only finds this out at a free health fair.

“Critical Condition” puts it right out there. To watch profits prioritized over human beings is to see malevolence at play.

“Rabia.”

Short Drama. 24 min. Playing at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Breckenridge Theatre.

“Rabia” tells the story of the first female suicide bomber in Palestine.

If you are looking for insights into the conflicts of the Middle East — look elsewhere. Avon director Muhammad Ali Hasan says in his director’s commentary this film is not meant for a Middle Eastern audience. It is in fact, a great Hollywood take on the intriguing story though.

There’s sex, people getting beat up and struggles of dominance. All entertaining for sure, but I’ve grown to expect more from the indies. Why does the general in the film “want to see dead Israelis on the street”?

Yet it should be noted that creating a film worthy of Hollywood is no easy feat. It’s a quality story that looks and sounds good. And I would be remiss in this review if I didn’t mention the compelling and authentic performance by Hanieh Jodat as the title character.