Grade Level: Coll-Adult Producer: Magic Lantern Films Closed Captioned: Yes

Running Time: 86 mins Country of Origin: Germany Study Guide: No

Copyright Date: 2011 Available in French: No

Gold: today's most popular investment commodity. This astounding film is the first to document the illegal gold-diggers in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert risking their lives for a few grams of the precious mineral.

 

While the speculative market value of gold in the Western world holds little relation to any tangible yardstick, the film describes in very direct and stark images what it means to prospect for gold by hand, in brutal conditions eerily reminiscent of the California Gold Rush during the late 19th-century. 

 

In amazingly intimate shots, Sven Zellner shows us the people at the other side of the world who pay the real price of gold.

“…the film is another example of cheap laborers picking at scraps left behind by big businesses who have raped and reaped the rewards. The cinematography is breathtaking, and traditional folksongs add to the lore of the history of the land and the people. …I recommend this film for public, school and academic libraries.”  Recommended.  - Educational Media Reviews Online

In Mongolian with English sub-titles.