Western Deep (2002)

Name: Western Deep
Director: Steve McQueen
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2002-01-01
Duration: 24 min

No Language 24m

Documentary

Directed by Steve McQueen

Release Date 01 Jan 2002

About Western Deep Movie

Western Deep, released in 2002, is a Documentary Movie from director Steve McQueen. An exploration of the sensory experience of the TauTona gold mine in South Africa, showing migrant labourers working in dark, claustrophobic environments and the ear-splitting noise of drilling. The TauTona mine in South Africa, known as 'Western Deep' is the world's deepest gold mine. Employing more than 5,000 people, it operates twenty-four hours day. The film begins in complete darkness as the miners descend three-and-a-half kilometres underground. McQueen documents an intense work regime where the temperature can reach over ninety degrees celsius. Accompanied by jarring sounds created by the mechanical equipment, Western Deep is a hellish representation of labour that makes the silent resolve of the miners all the more powerful.