This excellent, unique film is the final part of a trilogy from Venezuelen director Jose Novoa. "Oro Diablo," or Devil's Gold is a savage tale of greed, corruption and child exploitation in the Amazon Jungle, where young people are enslaved by greedy landowners to extract gold from the mines. A lesson in ecology is cleverly combined with powerful drama and suspense. Early in the film a boy dies because of the mercury used in mining for gold, a method that is destroying the Rain Forest, and in turn, the World Environment. Nobody here cares, as long as the money keeps rolling in. Young children perform their impossibly strenuous jobs with machine guns pointed at their heads, knowing that one mistake, and they will be shot like animals. Out of this brutal landscape a romance develops between the young miner Cae, and the beautiful Isabel, a girl forced into prostitution because of a debt owed by her mother. Unflinchingly violent, this is not always easy to look at, especially since much of the brutality is directed at children. Novoa's earlier film "Sicario" was a great crime drama, but this final chapter has more of an emotional, and also romantic level, possibly because this script was written by a woman. The lead actors, Laureano Olivares (the star of Sicario) and Rocio Miranda have to be one of the most gorgeous and sexiest couples ever, and they melt the screen with their passionate and raw love story, a love that is constantly threatened by the sea of corruption in which they are enslaved. I think the term "potboiler" was invented for films like this; sweaty, tense and lurid tales set against the exotic jungle backdrop. The limited budget works for the film rather than against it, and the slightly grainy transfer is perfect for this one. Fine film that is both informative and fascinating, "Oro Diablo" is an important and visionary work that unfortunately has been seen by very few people, outside of it's native Venezuela, where this trilogy is well-known. Reminiscent of John Boorman's "Emerald Forest" this one is worth the effort it will take to track it down. Highest rating.
