Earlier today, I watched 'Harlan County USA". Perhaps I should have watched this film first, because they are very much a companion piece to one another. "Harlan" shows the poor conditions the miners work in and the low wages they get. It is a powerful film.
But in many ways, "Men and Dust" is just as powerful. The location is different, and the time period is a few decades earlier, but the theme is very much the same: miners are going into dangerous conditions, often getting sick or even dying. And for what? Even more interesting looking back on it now (2016) is how we hear they are mining lead for children's toys. Wow... even after the mining is over, the chance of illness is spread to the customer.
