The Devil's Miner

I have seen the documentary DEVIL'S MINER in Prague during ONE WORLD festival. It was fantastic shot, moreover I have been to that mines in 2002 and I was shocked by that fact, that children work in there :(

Your documentary brought back many of the experiences we had there, and I would like to commend you on how well you were able to bring it to life on the big screen.

I'm looking forward to contributing to the cause through CARE and KINDERNOTHILFE. Thanks again for lettings us know about their programs. Congratulation to the camera and the directors who made this movie !!! It is unforgettable !!!

An uncompromising view of the mining culture in Bolivia. I appreciated the fact that the filmmakers didn't try to hit us over the head with what the "message" of this film was supposed to be. It's pretty obvious, and it's obviously very sad. The lack of a "victim mentality" was startling to see, especially when we have so many "victims" and complainers in the United States whom I'm sure these miners would be willing to "trade-up" to their lifestyle in a second.

Judging by the dearth of user comments, and even the small number who rated this film, it is sad that more people haven't seen this movie. It is an excellent documentary, and worth the effort to find on DVD.

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.

This is an excellently made documentary. The visual quality of the film has a fresh, live look. The beauty of Bolivia is contrasted with a horrifying story being told about the silver mines and miners of the Cerro Rico Mountain in Bolivia, a mountain called, "The Mountain that Eats Men." It is a film about one of the real hells that exists on our planet -- the plight of miners. There are over 5,000 Indios working at one of the 500 miner owned cooperatives on Cerro Rico, which has been mined for over 450 years. It is estimated that over 8 million have died in the mines. Most of the miners die in their forties from silicosis, a debilitating lung disease contracted from inhaling too much dust; others die from explosions, cave-ins and falling rocks.

Each mine has its own evil god called a "Tio" (a corruption of the word "Dio") a devil god that must be respected to avoid an early death, and to hopefully help them find more silver. As explained by the miners, the Tio was created by the so-called 'Christian' Conquistadores to quite literally put 'the fear of the devil" into them. It worked. They still worship and give reverence to the Tios.

The miners know they will not live very long because of silicosis. One shot shows their graveyard. They know they are sacrificing themselves for their families; they feel proud to be miners, so that they can help their families, and Bolivia! Contrast this with so many young people here in America who gladly sacrifice their families for their own self serving pleasure, and you get an awakening about how mature and heroic the narrator of the film, the 14 year old miner Basilio is.

He narrates the movie. You can't help but get really drawn into the film. It's mostly the story of Basilio, his brother Bernardo and their mother. There are many touching scenes with Basilio interacting with others. He talks to miners about Tio, and to Bernardo about their dreams of leaving the mines. He wants to be a teacher, and Bernardo wants to be a civil engineer.

However, in order to make more money, he goes to work at a different and more dangerous mine, where the boss sees him as his pick to grow up to be a drilling master. He's actually condemning him to death, since the person who does the pneumatic drilling inhales the most dust and will surely die from silicosis. Condemned in die in blinding dust, dreams of living destroyed.

As noted by others above, fortunately, Basilo and his brother were rescued from the mines by the filmmakers, and are now able to live full time normal lives away from the mines.

Part of the excellence of the film is that it is in no way judgmental about its subject: it does not have a voice over narration telling us anything, nor any didactic juxtapositioning of images nor Michael Moore trying to get into the offices of presidents of American silver import companies, but rather lets the actual natives of the city of Potosi tell their own story. It does not place blame, but leaves that to us as viewers.

This is the way documentaries should be made, practically as tightly edited 'slice of life'. It's also the kind of film we need to see to remind us, that while we sit here in comfort at our computers, we are living off the blood, sweat and toil of the world's masses; standing on the backs of the poor, the exploited and the dead. Check out the Internet for fact articles on miner's lung diseases. You'll be shocked at how many are dying not just in Bolivia or the United States, but also in China.

Good documentaries like this one let the story speak for itself. I give it an 8.

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.