The Devil's Miner (2005)

Touches You

Simply A Masterpiece

One of my all time favorites.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Without film, we could never have The Devil's Miner. Magazines, books, photos, songs, and stories cannot convey the raw emotion and the broad story like a film can. The story is of a Bolivian boy from Potosi who must work as a miner to help support his family. One of the main ideas captured in the film is the dichotomy between the surface world and the mine. The surface world is ruled by Jesus, but within the mine, the miners are at the mercy of the "Tio," or the devil. This framing device actually gives more direct meaning to the story: the miners have become subjugated to the earth and to the devil. What's refreshing in this story is that there's no mustache-twirling evil businessman enslaving these miners. The evil is in the earth itself, both above and below the surface. The mine conspires to kill the miners, rob them of light and of their lungs and limbs, while the outside world also shows no mercy to the miners, as they are forced to work to make a living. The film doesn't portray this as some social evil, the rich preying on the weak, but rather the fallen world preying on its inhabitants. Whether or not the devil is real, the film obviously communicates that the miners, and by extension, all of us, are at the mercy of a fallen earth.This documentary is nicely shot, and makes its audience feel uncomfortable in all the right ways. It makes you see and feel the situation. It's what documentary is all about. The film doesn't have much re-watch value and is not especially influential, so I don't feel good giving anything more than an 8, but definitely a great film.

This is a truly captivating and personal story of a 14-year old boy struggling for a better life. My family and I watched the film, and we can not believe the treacherous conditions endured by these underage child miners. Basilio Vargas and his younger brother should serve as role models for those of us who have ever complained about a rough life. Much to my surprise, a powerful sense of courage, faith and family exists, and the Bolivian culture speaks volumes on screen. These daring filmmakers have masterfully captured a forgotten world and made it accessible to those of us who will never have to set foot inside of a mine. It is commendable that they risked their own lives to bring us such reality.

A documentary about Devil-worship by devout Catholics, children included, sounds like a shock exposé from middle America. But it's South America, Bolivia to be exact, and we're talking full-blown adoration of devil effigies by the whole community, not some secret cult.The devil in question is not the devil of abundance found in pagan ritual traced back to the horned gods of Pan, nor the closely linked neo-modern devil of the British occultist Aleister Crowley, much less the debased spectres of horror that have been a mainstay of western cinema. It is the devil of Christian Conquistadors that enslaved much of South America several centuries ago. They forced the indigenous people to work 24hr shifts in the mines with only four hours of sleep, kept awake with coca leaves. When the native Bolivians tried to revolt, they introduced fear of the devil to keep them in line.The story is told more than once in the film, suggesting that the miners know of its invented origin but still fear and believe it. Outside the mines, Jesus Christ is supreme, and a cross surmounts the entrance. But inside, in the depths of the mountain, they are isolated. Thousands, maybe millions, have died in the mines of the 'Mountain that Eats Men', killed by explosions, accidents, or just the silicosis that eats away the lungs and kills men in their thirties. In every mine is a Devil, with an altar, and offerings are made to avert calamity. If the Devil is not given offerings, he will take them in human flesh.The high male death rate means that many children are orphaned. Boys as young as 12 and 14 become the heads of their households and go to work in the mines to support the families. Necessity means laws against child labour are ignored. They chew coca leaves, which averts tiredness and hunger and increases their strength. About 800 children live on the mountain in Potosi, and most will never leave. At one stage, when yield from the mines had been particularly poor, we see the villagers calmly and routinely making an animal sacrifice. The blood of the unfortunate llama is splashed across the mine entrance as an appeasement to the anger of the Devil as they pray that he will not inflict harm on them and will release unto them the secret wealth of the mines. The kids are earning $2 a day.Simply filming it looked harrowing. I asked Kief Davidson (one of the directors) if he had been scared at all or found filming in such dangerous conditions challenging. He mentioned that in one scene, where they are examining the Devil in a particular mine, one of the boys looks round suddenly a moment or two before the scene cuts. The reason (not shown in the film) was that there had been an explosion (unexploded dynamite is a constant hazard) and the miners wanted to get out before the tunnel collapsed and killed them all. But what worried them more was the fact that the film crew attempted to take some of the trappings from the Devil's altar.This movie could easily have been a political one, a protest. The filmmakers chose instead to focus on the story of two young boys, Basilio and Bernadino. They face daily horrors, approach the shrine of the devil with awe and full knowledge of the local Catholic priest, dream of escaping the life of the mines for a better job. The humility and pride of the miners, and the strength with which the child workers bear such tragedy, is gut-wrenching.As a footnote, Kief Davidson (at the Edinburgh International Film Festival) told me how the film company, together with a local sponsor from the first screening, had managed to ensure that for those two boys at least, the dream become reality.

The devil's minor is one of the best documentary I have seen yet. I saw it's premiere at the Tribeca Film festival April 28, 2005. I wanted to see as many Spanish movies at the festival as I could. This film was one of them. As I read the description of the movie, I thought it was interesting. When I saw that it was from both USA and Germany, I paused for a second and said Germany, okay! Watching the film, I give all respect and congratulations to both directors. They told the story of 14 year old Basilio, his brother and mother and their struggle to support the family so beautifully. I must say the film quality and shots were great especially under the cave. The way they shot the cave scenes, it made you feel as if you were Basilio working and walking inside the caves. This film was surprising. Being Spanish and catholic myself, I had no idea people would actually worship the devil for protection under the caves. I found it very odd and difficult to understand how the people would go to church and worship God one minute then turn around and worship the devil the next. I know that I am very LUCKY to have the things that I do, however, I believe watching this film will truly show people just how lucky they have it. Imagine working 24 hours a day in the USA and only earning 3 dollars. Imagine supporting 4 people on that. All that hard dangerous work just so that someone can walk to a store and buy that ring so put in their finger or earrings to wear in their ear. All the lives that are lost for that. Unimaginable. I strongly urge those in the position to help those that are not as fortunate to do so. The shots that were filmed, the sky, mountain, people were beautiful. Thank you Kief and Richard for showing us a part of Bolivia many of us were not aware of and have not seen. Thank you for taking the time after the movie to stay and talk to us to answer question what we had. Congratulations once again.