Review of Cocaine Cowboys (2006) by Christian V — 31 May 2011

This documentary is gripping, but doesn't deal as much with globalization issues as I would personally want for class use. Focusing on the 1980s drug wars in Miami (with many, many graphic photos of crime scenes), it includes interviews with Americans who did time for smuggling talking about the methods they used and the personalities involved. One shortcoming of the film (and this may just be a matter of access) is that there is almost no interview time with Colombian drug runners, so the film has a distinctly American-centric perspective.

The last ten minutes or so talk about the long-term economic impacts of drug money on Miami, suggesting that the city benefited economically, as though this didn't justify the murder rate.