Once in a while I see a documentary film that hits me at different levels all at once. This is one of those films. It is called "The Devil's Miner" and it is about a 14 year old boy named Basilio. He lives on the Cerro Rico Mountain in Bolivia and works in the silver mines in that mountain. The mountain is called "The Mountain That Eats Men" by the locals and it is well named. If the frequent accidental cave-ins don't kill you, then the dust and gasses will. Only the poorest of poor families would dream of sending thier young sons into these mines to earn a living, but Basillo's family has no choice. His father died when he was very young and he and his ten year old brother must work the mines so that they can survive. The work is terribly difficult and dangerous but Basilio dreams of someday getting out of the mines and having a decent job; so he works hard to earn paupers wages to feed his family and buy the items he needs to attend school in the valley.

Like I said, this movie hit me at several levels. It is narrated by the boy (with english subtitles), so it has a very personal feel and you are immediatly drawn into his world. His story is compelling, horrifying, sad, and, at times, moving beyond words. It will also hit you on a religious or faith level because these miners practice a kind of devil worship while they are in the mines; they are church going Christians outside. Every mine has a shrine in it to this "deity" called "Tio". Tio is supposed to literally be the devil and it is he who keeps the miners safe as long as they pray to him and offer him sacrifices of coca leaves (which the miners all chew to give themselves energy and courage to work in the mines. Coca leaves, by the way, are where cocain is derived...they are literally doing cocain.) and alcohol. Durring the movie, Basillo takes his younger brother to the Tio shrine to offer up sacrifices and explains that the younger boy is so afraid he can't even look at the face of the statue. They practice this form of religion out of desperate fear that thier lives could end at any time by a cave-in or some other tragic accident.

There are many moving moments in this excellent documentary, but one that will forever stick in my mind is the yearly festival. I don't remember exactly what the festival is for, but every year the miners come down the mountain to the town and they dance through the streets. Each mine has it's own dance and Basilio's does thier dance using the actual impliments they work with each day. One thing that will strike you more than anything else is how mature and heroic this boy actually is. The chances of surviving the work of these mines is extremely low, they are almost always condemned to an early death. Especially the ones who opperate the pneumatic drill, which Basilio volunteers to do when he finds out his family needs more money.

This is the way a documentary film should be made. It makes no moral judgement outright, instead it allows the viewer to come to his own conclusion. It is also the kind of movie we all need to see to remind us that while we are relatively safe and well-fed, there are many who must toil and suffer in ways we can hardly imagine. It does not end in a bad way, however, but I will let you find that out for yourself. This one is a must see in my opinion.