Read More ‘Bitter Lake’: Rotterdam Review While bookings at indie-friendly and documentary-driven programs are certainly possible – its presence in festivals across Asia is probably more than guaranteed – travelling beyond the region will probably be a challenge. A commission from Taiwan’s Public Television Service, the film received its world premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam, its programmers being firm advocates of the young filmmaker’s work ever since they granted him a competition berth in 2011for his first film, Return to Burma. So it is, therefore, that they tolerate living by rote, with only the banter and the odd row spicing up their existence.ĭevoid of voiceovers and on-screen text introducing the workers and their terrain, Z’s documentary is destined for much more limited exposure than his three previous features.
Working in terrible conditions and amidst political instability – the illegal and unregulated quarries are located in Kachin State, where rebels are still waging war against the Myanmese government – the men are toiling tediously with just the faint hope of unearthing that one big gem which will change their lives forever. But as an authentic representation of the miners, the approach is effective if not even essential. The repetition might be an acquired taste. A feature-length documentary comprising just 20 shots during its 104-minute runtime, Jade Miners is an austere piece illustrating the titular laborers at work and at rest: they dig, they eat, they sleep, and then it’s back to some more drilling and digging again.
Having finally attained his long-deserved breakthrough last year with the Berlinale-bowing, Golden Horses-nominated narco-drama Ice Poison, Midi Z ‘s follow-up is a slight step sideways.