I recently saw this film at the 2006 Milwaukee International Film Festival. It's a moving testament to the strength and resiliency of human beings, who manage to find a sense of purpose, and even pride, in the sheer act of survival under the most difficult circumstances.
"Workingman's Death" is an eye-opening experience that takes the viewer into some of the worst working conditions in the world: an illegal coal mine in Ukraine, a slaughterhouse in Nigeria, a sulfur mine in Indonesia, and a shipbreaking yard in Pakistan. The film starkly portrays these harsh settings and the (mostly) men who toil within them. There is no "expert" testimony, no voiceovers, no narrator, only the men themselves who do the work. The camera follows them as they carry out their tasks, take breaks and go home after a hard day. The only commentary is from the workers themselves, talking about their jobs.
The film is an intimate portrait of how these workers keep their spirits intact through all of this back breaking labor. The Ukrainian coal miners see themselves as heroes, carrying on the legacy of the once-great Soviet coal machine. In Indonesia, a rabble-rouser comes to the sulfur mine for work, and, amidst his dangerous and physically grueling work, shoots the breeze with his coworkers about prostitutes and bar brawls. A worker in the Nigerian slaughterhouse says that his job cleaning the severed heads of cows makes him special, because he has skills that other workers don't have. The workers at the shipbreaking yard in Pakistan consider themselves part of a brotherhood; they look out for the fellow workers and pull together to help a friend in trouble.
In "Workingman's Death," we see the will of people to carry on. The workers in this film are oppressed people, but they refuse to think of themselves as slaves. They find pride, brotherhood and even humor in their work, no matter how dire the circumstances. The cinematography is beautiful, the music haunting. Never before has hard work been more artfully portrayed.
The film features graphic footage of animal slaughter, and the segment on the Nigerian slaughterhouse will be especially disturbing to many people. Unfortunately, it's the graphic nature of this film that will probably prevent from getting wide release, at least in the US. This is a shame, because this is a film that can remind us all of our common humanity.
"Workingman's Death" is an eye-opening experience that takes the viewer into some of the worst working conditions in the world: an illegal coal mine in Ukraine, a slaughterhouse in Nigeria, a sulfur mine in Indonesia, and a shipbreaking yard in Pakistan. The film starkly portrays these harsh settings and the (mostly) men who toil within them. There is no "expert" testimony, no voiceovers, no narrator, only the men themselves who do the work. The camera follows them as they carry out their tasks, take breaks and go home after a hard day. The only commentary is from the workers themselves, talking about their jobs.
The film is an intimate portrait of how these workers keep their spirits intact through all of this back breaking labor. The Ukrainian coal miners see themselves as heroes, carrying on the legacy of the once-great Soviet coal machine. In Indonesia, a rabble-rouser comes to the sulfur mine for work, and, amidst his dangerous and physically grueling work, shoots the breeze with his coworkers about prostitutes and bar brawls. A worker in the Nigerian slaughterhouse says that his job cleaning the severed heads of cows makes him special, because he has skills that other workers don't have. The workers at the shipbreaking yard in Pakistan consider themselves part of a brotherhood; they look out for the fellow workers and pull together to help a friend in trouble.
In "Workingman's Death," we see the will of people to carry on. The workers in this film are oppressed people, but they refuse to think of themselves as slaves. They find pride, brotherhood and even humor in their work, no matter how dire the circumstances. The cinematography is beautiful, the music haunting. Never before has hard work been more artfully portrayed.
The film features graphic footage of animal slaughter, and the segment on the Nigerian slaughterhouse will be especially disturbing to many people. Unfortunately, it's the graphic nature of this film that will probably prevent from getting wide release, at least in the US. This is a shame, because this is a film that can remind us all of our common humanity.