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| |  | Capes & Coats | Home » » » The Devil's Miner | | | | | | | Description: | | Directed by long-time collaborators Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani, THE DEVIL'S MINER is a moving portrait of two brothers--14-year-old Basilio and 12-year-old Bernardino--who work deep inside the Cerro Rico silver mines of Bolivia. Through the children's eyes, we encounter the world of devout Catholic miners who sever their ties with God upon entering the mountain, where it is an ancient belief that the devil, as represented by statues constructed in the tunnels, determines the fate of all who work within the mines, which date back to the sixteenth century.
As we come to know the brothers, we learn their fears and hopes for their future, and occasionally glimpse their childlike souls peeking through their stoic faces. Raised without a father, Basilio must work to support their family and to go to school and study, so that he and his family can one day leave the mines. Working 24 hour shifts, eating cocoa leaves to ward off hunger and drowsiness, Basilio then walks to the city to attend a school, where he is ostracized because he is a working miner. Yet, through it all, Basilio and his family retain a dignity and courage that is inspiring.
The filmmakers bring alive the depths of this mining community and the beauty of the many customs and traditions of the mining town filled with superstition. Each day as they enter the shafts, the Catholic miners bring offerings to carved statues called "Tio", the devil who determines the fate of all who work there. They stage large-scale rituals and sacrifices at the entrance to the mine, and carnivals where they parade through the streets. All of this is their effort to appease the "mountain that eats men alive" where millions of men have died in accidents and of disease and the life expectancy of workers is only 35-40 years old.
A prime example of how social issue films can make a difference, THE DEVIL'S MINER has brought attention to this situation and has encouraged educational and community programs in the US, Europe and Bolivia that are helping to get children out of the mines and into schools. | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Basilio Vargas, Bernardino Vargas | | Director:
| Kief Davidson | | Format:
| Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen | | Language:
| Spanish | | Subtitle:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| FIRST RUN FEATURES | | Run Time:
| 82 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| May 23, 2006 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 12 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
The Devil's MinerJun 04, 2009
The Devil's Miner This is a great DVD that I recommend to all those people that love children and want to do something good for them. It is a real story and every kid in America should see it. I had given this DVD to 2 recent college graduates and both loved this DVD. It doesn't matter what part of the world you live, children are children everywhere and should be respected.
Love this DVD. Please see it!!
Mrs. Montes
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Excellent!Jan 30, 2009
This is a film that people need to watch. It will make you appreciate what you have both materially and personally. It will also allow you see first-hand how a little boy is forced to work in order to survive in the savage system of exploitation known to us as Capitalism. This so-called non-failed system HAS failed for this boy who's life we are allow to follow in this great film. I strongly recommend it; it will make you reflect more than any Hollywood film.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Great movie!Jan 06, 2009
This movie was so insightful. I used it as an optional project in my Spanish class and the students that chose to watch it really learned a lot.
7 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Child Laborers In BoliviaJul 14, 2008
Basilio and Bernandino Vargas are two Bolivian kids who, because of the death of their father, have to work as child laborers in the Cerro Rico silver mines. Basilio works long shifts for $2.50 a day. But then transfers to a more dangerous mine where he is able to make $4.00 a day. Somehow he manages to also attend to school, though he has to spend a substantial amount of his salary just to pay for his school uniform.
One of the great things about this doc is that the film makers have a sincere humanitarian purpose. They not only want to educate viewers about the horrors of child labor. But actually do something tangiable to better the lives of these kids.
Included in the bonus features is a short film which shows how Basilio and Bernardino are doing one year after filming. Apparently an aide agency called Kindernothilfe has enabled the boys to leave the mines, move their family into a apartment in Potosi and continue their educations so they will have better opportunities in life.
I wish these great youngsters, and others like them, all the best. They deserve it!
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Living in Poverty with a Hope for the FutureMay 29, 2008
This movie is eye-opening. It shows how life in poor countries is very different in so many ways from that in the affluent USA.
What's it like to work in silver mines when you are still a child? This Spanish-language movie, with English subtitles, tells it all. The father had died years ago, and the mother must take care of younger children. So, as is true in other situations where the oldest child must grow up fast and assume many of the responsibilities of the missing parent, the 14 year-old boy must work to support the family. So does his 12 year-old brother. When the 14 year-old moves on to the larger, more profitable mine (in the "mountain that eats people"), the only consolation is the fact that the foreman pledges to the mother that he will watch out for the boy. Mining is arduous and dangerous. The miners of all ages must chew on coca leaves (the precursor to cocaine) in order to combat fatigue.
Most cases of child labor involve situations where generations of people are trapped in poverty. This situation is potentially different. The larger mine has pneumatic drills, suggesting that technological improvements in Bolivian mining will eventually make child labor unprofitable and therefore obsolete. The 12 and 14 year-old boys go to school in hopes that they can get safer and better-paying jobs when they are older. They wear uniforms that their mother can barely afford. As a professional educator, I am struck by the respect for education and its contrast with the often superficial attitudes of American parents and children towards the schooling process.
Both children and adults in this area believe that, whereas God rules the world above ground, the Tio (Satan) rules the underworld. In order to avoid tragedies and to be granted access to good veins of silver, the miners must pay homage to the devil by praying to him, lighting candles to him, and offering him gifts of tobacco, alcohol, etc. The boys explain the origins of this devil-worship: When Spanish colonists forced Indians to work in the mines, the latter sometimes rebelled. So, to instill fear, the colonists told the Indians that if they balked at working, the devil would punish them. A local priest explains how he tries to combat this old superstition.
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