Plot summary
Under the sun, the heavenly beauty of grasslands will soon be covered by the raging dust of mines. Facing the ashes and noises caused by heavy mining , the herdsmen have no choice but to leave as the meadow areas dwindle. In the moonlight, iron mines are brightly lit throughout the night. Workers who operate the drilling machines must stay awake. The fight is tortuous, against the machine and against themselves. Meanwhile, coal miners are busy filling trucks with coals. Wearing a coal-dust mask, they become ghostlike creatures. An endless line of trucks will transport all the coals and iron ores to the iron works. There traps another crowd of souls, being baked in hell. In the hospital, time hangs heavy on miners' hands. After decades of breathing coal dust, death is just around the corner. They are living the reality of purgatory, but there will be no paradise.
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
The poetics of destruction: "I grieve upon the shattered earth"
A grim and gloomy Chinese documentary
BEHEMOTH is a grim and grimy Chinese documentary looking at the impoverished lives of workers in a mine and steel factory in the north of the country. It feels very much like a real-life GERMINAL, full of depressing visuals of a broken and run-down landscape. The depiction of human life at its most base is heartbreaking at times. Intellectually, I wished this documentary had more narration - the only spoken words are poetry - to give context to go along with the visuals, but those visuals are powerful enough to stand on their own.