In this contemplative documentary Chinese director Zhao Liang acts as a modern-day Dante exploring Inner Mongolia’s environmental destruction, to provide a poetic protest against the destructive social and environmental effects of Chinese industrialisation.

The coal mines in the central region of Mongolia are opening up a deep gash in a landscape of outstanding beauty. The constant thunder of explosions, the clouds of dust and the deafening noise of machinery are a result of a mining industry destined to continually fuel the expansion in Chinese construction. Facing the ashes and noise, herdsmen have no choice but to leave as the meadow areas dwindle. Meanwhile, miners busy filling trucks with coals become ghostlike creatures – their lungs ruined by dust inhalation - whilst at the iron works another crowd of souls are being baked in a modern industrial hell-scape. In the Old Testament, the mountains are the domain of a monster named Behemoth. In modern times the vast mining industry has taken this monster’s place.

Visually arresting and meditative, Liang takes us right to the heart of China’s mining industry, highlighting its toxic impact, to offer a politically charged, yet lyrical and moving portrait of a modern-day hell. A cry of controlled, righteous outrage, Behemoth is a powerful testament to the human and environmental costs of consumption.

• The screening of Behemoth on Tue 30 Aug is part of our Cinébites deal: get 30% off any main dish in the Café/Bar with a valid cinema ticket.

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