The Devil's Miner
First Run Features | Release Date: March 17, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Basilio narrates his tale with such wit and wisdom that one comes away from the film wondering how much youthful potential is slowly being choked to death deep within the bowels of the earth. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
This beautiful, terrible story is not easily forgotten. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
15 minutes into it, you are spellbound, heartbroken and unaccountably cheered -- your faith and admiration in humanity restored. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
So polished that it might pass for a scripted narrative feature, but that's not a bad thing. They found a remarkable spokesman in Bolivian teenager Basilio Vargas, and while his cogent, organized descriptions of his life, beliefs, history, and ambitions sometimes seem too calculated, at least they're calculated to communicate efficiently and appealingly. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderRichard M. Porton
A powerful indictment of the horrendous treatment of children who toil in hellish Bolivian silver mines. The filmmakers are better at fashioning haunting images than offering hard-nosed analysis, yet they never sentimentalize their young protagonists' plight. Read full review
80
VarietyDeborah Young
An unforgettable journey through hell under the earth, where Satan is worshipped as king. Straight-as-an-arrow filmmaking raises this docu above the crowd. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
While political and social context is kept to a minimum, the darkly poetic images they capture speak volumes about what the miners go through. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Guaranteed to leave you outraged at the way children - and, for that matter, adults - are exploited by mining companies. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
It's a simple film with a direct message, but the glimpses of the surrounding social culture that has adapted to the horrors give this Third World "How Green Was My Valley" its identity. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Perhaps little more than an object lesson in the end, the movie's nevertheless a sobering day trip, more for its hints of a forgotten history of culture collision than its sensible but rote socioeconomic sympathies. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
A brave, sincere film that leaves you wishing that more light had been shed on the darkness. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
It’s the captured conversations about everyday lives and struggles that pin you to your seat. Read full review
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