Travelogue Day 21

14/6/06

Workingman's Death (2005, Michael Glawogger)

A fairly intimate portrait of manual laborers in five different places and professions (coal miners in the Ukraine, sulfur harvesters in Indonesia, abattoir workers in Nigeria, shipwreckers in Pakistan, and steel workers in China) that documents the death of very hard manual labor in the modern world.

We see how difficult coal mining used to be everywhere while following Ukrainian men into mines only tall enough to crawl through. The government abandoned the mines like these men, former government miners, and this is the only way they can survive. Seeing them eat their lunches in such confined quarters is interesting to say the least.

It is likewise hard for the sulfur harvesters in Indonesia. They brave volcanic gases on the mountainside to carry upwards of 115 kilograms of sulfur down the mountain to sell. On the way they walk through tourists and school groups who pose as sulfur harvesters for souvenir pictures. One harvester uses molten sulfur to make small sculptures he sells to the tourists on his way down the mountain.

The Nigerian abattoir is all out-door and highly specialized. There are the slaughterers, roasters (roasting whole animals, skin on and ungutted, something new to me), skinners, carvers, and those who carry the fresh skinned meat to waiting vehicles. A young boy even sells fresh water by the bottle to the workers. This landscape seems the most Hellish. Everything is blackened, often covered in gore, discarded animal parts, and enshrouded in acrid smoke.

The Pakistani shipmen work around the clock to cut apart old, large seafaring vessels. They cut them apart by hand, using a large winching system to pull these large sections onto the sore for further disassembly. The conditions are harsh, and workers face death many times daily (especially with their general lack of safety gear).

Chinese steel workers mention how things are changing. They still toil in harsh, dangerous conditions, but modernization is slowly changing that, new works are going up, and the older workers say they aren't likely to press their children into their line of work.

Every group of these workers express their happiness to have their jobs at the same time they lament the difficulty of the work. In the end, however, they ignore the hardships and carry on as does everyone else.

It is in the epilogue that the point the film wishes to make comes home. By showing a German steel plant that has been decommissioned and turned into a public park of sorts, the film seems to celebrate the march of modernity and its ability to eliminate the need for people to do such dangerous work by mechanizing it.

It seems to be a celebration, but should it be a lament?

Girl Shy (1924, Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor)

My first Harold Lloyd film is viewed (nearly) appropriately: in the picture palace that is the Sydney State Theatre and with live musical accompaniment (I say "nearly" because there are three musicians rather than a full orchestra).

The tale of a poor young man so afraid of girls he stutters uncontrollably whenever they're around who finds love with a rich young woman when he saves her dog from being left behind on the train one day.

Mishaps occur, as you would expect in a 1920s comedy. He is only able to talk to her about his book (a fictional tale of his exploits at love), and he wins her over. However, when he finds that he really won't be getting it published, he puts her off because he things he won't be good enough for her as only a poor tailor's assistant.

Luckily, he gets an advance cheque from the publisher (because they decided to go with his book) and finds out the man his girl is to marry is already married. This sets off a Grand Theft Auto style sequence (with Harold stealing cars, motorcycles, a horse and cart, and a streetcar) of Harold's rush to rescue his sweetheart, culminating in his theft of the bride and proposal.

Thoroughly enjoyable.