In the Name of Our Coca Leaves = Cocanchen Sutumpy 2004
Distributed by Third World Newsreel, 545 Eighth Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10018; 212-947-9277
Produced by CEFREC-CAIB
DVD, color, 60 min.
Sr. High - General Adult
Native Peoples, Pharmaceutical Industry, Bolivia
Date Entered: 09/09/2014
Reviewed by Buzz Haughton, Adjunct Faculty, School of Library and Information Studies, University of AlabamaThe story is simple: subsistence farmers depend on the cultivation of coca for their livelihood, which is under attack by the Bolivian military. Joselo joins the military to make a living, and he ends up confronting his family of coca growers, with tragic results.
While this reviewer was sympathetic to the cause of the coca growers, the tale was told in very simplistic terms; the viewer has no doubt as to who the bad guys are. The dialogue switches between Quechua and Spanish with English subtitles, sometimes rendered rather clumsily. I think viewers would want to skip to the end of the video and leave out much of the intervening scenes. There is no background provided to the story. This conflict could better be presented elsewhere.