Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin' with the Godmother (2008)

Director:

Billy Corben

Genre:

Documentary | Crime

Plot:

Set in 1991 on the inner-city streets of Oakland, California, cocaine dealer Charles Cosby has his life...

Cast

Nelson Andreu	...	Himself
Jorge Ayala	...	Himself
Sam Burstyn	...	Himself
Luis Casuso	...	Himself
Will Collins	...	Himself
Charles Cosby	...	Himself
Raul Diaz	...	Himself
Donovan Kennedy	...	Himself
Bob Palumbo	...	Himself
Al Singleton	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Cocaine Cowboys 2: Hustlin' with the Godmother (Australia)

Runtime:

USA:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Company:

Rakontur

Movie Connections:

Follows Cocaine Cowboys (2006)

A fascinating, well told story

A second Cocaine Cowboys documentary. For years many fans of the crime genre have only heard stories about Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel, we now get a glimpse of the Miami 1980's cocaine era. The fast-paced documentary is directed by Bill Corben (Raw Deal) and edited by David Cypkin. A lot of real life Scarface stories. The documentary actually makes Scarface look like a choir boy. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction definitely holds merit in this case. The documentary was received well by the crowd. The rap scene particularly seems to love the documentary. Songs were recorded in dedication of Griselda Blanco. DVD's were shot in dedication of Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday. The Miami premiere of CC2 even shows a person with a tattoo of Griselda Blanco on his arm. CC1 turned into a cult. Corben decided to make a second part.

While CC1 focused on the cocaine era on a large scale, CC2 focuses more on Charles Cosby and Griselda Blanco. Cosby was a big-time cocaine distributor in the Oakland area. The documentary shows the come up of Cosby, his relationship with Griselda Blanco during her stay in prison and we get some more information on Griselda during the cocaine era.

CC2 gives us more information on Blanco's childhood. It give us insight in what made this woman so ruthless. What I noticed from watching documentaries on Escobar and this documentary is that Escobar and Blanco grew up in horrific circumstances. It's not that surprising that they hold little value for human life. Columbia was in very bad shape at that time and it left a mark on the young generation.

CC2 is slower in pace then CC1 but that doesn't mean much. CC1 was very high paced. With CC2 Corben does an excellent job of grabbing the audience by the throat and never letting them go. CC2 uses cartoons to illustrate certain events. Not only does it look impressive visually, but it also illustrated the surrealness of the CC story. Of course this style is also used because you can look at the narrators face for so long before you get bored. The music used in this documentary is rap. Rap made specially for the documentary.

The filmmaker does a good job of not only talking to the police about the Cocaine Cowboys but also talks to the Cocaine Cowboys themselves. CC2 has fewer interviews with officials. Cosby does most of the talking. This gives you insight in the cocaine business, but this is also tricky. You must remember you're dealing with big time criminals here. Cosby was head of the largest cocaine distribution network in Oakland and lover and close business partner of someone who's accused of being involved in more then 200 murders. He isn't going to give specific information about certain events, because he would be incriminating himself. Regardless of this I never really felt that I as the viewer was being lied to or was giving half truths. I think the filmmakers did the best they could to get this documentary as close to the truth as possible.

Bottom line: A fascinating, well told story. While some might enjoy it less then CC1, it's still good. With the focus on Oakland drug lord Charles Cosby and queen of cocaine Griselda Blanco.

8/10