Behemoth (2015)

Original title

悲兮魔兽

Directed by

Zhao Liang

Genre

documentary film

Country

People's Republic of China, France

Runtime

1h 35m

Rated

15

Rating

7.5 of 10 from 56 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary examines the human and environmental costs of coal mining in Inner Mongolia. It follows miners and residents affected by the industry, using surreal imagery inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy.

meditativebleaksurrealslow-burnvisually lushsombercontemplativedisturbing

What happens

Behemoth (Chinese: 悲兮魔兽; pinyin: Bēixī móshòu) is a Chinese documentary film directed by Zhao Liang about the environmental, sociological, and public health effects of coal-mining in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Loosely based on Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Liang’s documentary has been lauded for its surreal cinematography and poignant imagery. The film was released in competition on September 11, 2015 at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. The film was banned in China. Liang commented on the ban, saying that "even though environmental protection is a national policy, but the regional government quite disliked this type of film (虽然环保是国家政策，但是地方政府对这种电影很反感)". This was not Liang’s first banned film, as his 2009 documentary Petition was also subjected to government censorship. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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