THE DEVIL'S MINER (U.S. / 2005)

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*A 2006 U.S. Release* 


The Andean city of Potos, Bolivia, which sits at an altitude of nearly 4000 meters, is said to be the highest city in the world. It was where Basilio Vargas, the 14-year-old protagonist of Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani's poignant documentary The Devils Miner, used to reside with his family until his father passed away. Now, along with his mother and two younger siblings, Basilio lives in a makeshift hut adjacent to the neighboring Cerro Rico ("Rich Mountain"). The reason being that him and his 12-year-old brother work as miners in one of the nearly depleted silver mines of Cerro Rico, which date back to the 16th century when the Spanish enslaved and exploited the local Indians for labor. While the Spanish might be gone, the conditions havent improved much as Basilio, the familys new breadwinner, logs long hours in the hellish, subterranean mines where 800 other children are also forced to work for one reason or another. 

The filmmakers deftly follow the young man as he accounts his daily work routine, after which he does look forward to going home and watching television with his family (as long as the batteries dont run out). Basilio is smart enough to recognize the inherent risks of working in the mines (the respiratory disease of silicosis causes many to die in their 30s and 40s), but he needs to work until he finishes school and is able to find another profession. Until then, him and others (all ardent Catholics) pray to the devil figures, which were introduced by the Spanish inside the mines to scare the workers, to keep them alive. Remarkably shot on video, The Devils Miner is neither heavy-handed nor polemical; it simply documents a hitherto unknown life with all of its joys and sorrows. It is disappointing however that the filmmakers choose not to contextualize their effort within a proper political framework, though that shouldnt deter anyone from excavating on their own.

Grade: B
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*THE DEVIL'S MINER premiered at the 2005 Rotterdam Film Festival. Since then, it has traveled to numerous other festivals, winning a plethora of awards along the way.

*Now available on DVD in the U.S. (First Run) (Extra features include a short film which revisits the lad one year later; links to online resources for further info, etc.)