"Workingman's Death" is a difficult movie to review. The first segment about Ukranians mining coal from small illegal mines in one of the coldest, most remote spots on the planet, is fascinating. We follow these hard workers on their journey to and from the mines. We visit the home of a miner and meet his wife and the family (a baby goat) and the entire segment was delightful. Next, we travel to Indonesia and see some incredible footage of men extracting sulfur from the mountains and this too, is something that you have probably never seen before. There are some very funny moments as well and this story was also a winner.
What I found much less compelling were the final two stories about Pakistanis taking apart giant ships no longer being used and an obsolete power plant in China that has been turned into a park. Unique...yes. Interesting...not really.
The ugliness came in the form of a segment about workers in Nigeria. Honestly, if I knew about this beforehand, there is zero chance that I would have attended this screening. It begins with animal horns being tossed onto a large pile and then we see several large animals being led to an area. At this point, my sensors were activated. I was saying to myself...please God--let this be some sort of African rodeo...but when I heard voices shouting and the subtitles read INNARDS..SKIN...INNARDS!, I bolted out of the theater at record speed. The bloodbath apparently continued for about 25 minutes. Since I didn't witness this horror show, here is the description in the festival program guide: "A purer form of hell is found in a Nigerian slaughter yard where the bleating animals (graphically portrayed) seem more human than the men and women killing, portioning, roasting, sellingand praying." All-righty then! Now at least you know that this isn't going to be the "feel good hit of the summer"...
In the Q and A following the film, director Michael Glawogger was quite charming in talking about his work. Someone asked if it will be seen on television. Glawogger was hopeful, saying that he expected that it would eventually make it to the small screen. I can tell you with absolute certainty, that this will NEVER be seen on American television in any way shape or form, unless the Nigerian segment is deleted.
A DVD will probably be released in the future, and until then, "Workingman's Death" will enjoy a limited release in the U.S.
What I found much less compelling were the final two stories about Pakistanis taking apart giant ships no longer being used and an obsolete power plant in China that has been turned into a park. Unique...yes. Interesting...not really.
The ugliness came in the form of a segment about workers in Nigeria. Honestly, if I knew about this beforehand, there is zero chance that I would have attended this screening. It begins with animal horns being tossed onto a large pile and then we see several large animals being led to an area. At this point, my sensors were activated. I was saying to myself...please God--let this be some sort of African rodeo...but when I heard voices shouting and the subtitles read INNARDS..SKIN...INNARDS!, I bolted out of the theater at record speed. The bloodbath apparently continued for about 25 minutes. Since I didn't witness this horror show, here is the description in the festival program guide: "A purer form of hell is found in a Nigerian slaughter yard where the bleating animals (graphically portrayed) seem more human than the men and women killing, portioning, roasting, sellingand praying." All-righty then! Now at least you know that this isn't going to be the "feel good hit of the summer"...
In the Q and A following the film, director Michael Glawogger was quite charming in talking about his work. Someone asked if it will be seen on television. Glawogger was hopeful, saying that he expected that it would eventually make it to the small screen. I can tell you with absolute certainty, that this will NEVER be seen on American television in any way shape or form, unless the Nigerian segment is deleted.
A DVD will probably be released in the future, and until then, "Workingman's Death" will enjoy a limited release in the U.S.