At the end of the 19th century, during the Klondike Gold Rush, over 100,000 people were drawn to the Klondike region of Canada in search of gold. Of these 100,000, only around 30,000 actually made it; and of these, only 4,000 actually struck gold. In his newest feature, GOLD, Thomas Arslan looks at the human face of this desperate migration.

German born immigrant Emily Meyer (Nina Hoss) embarks on a six week trek through the Canadian wilderness with a group of migrants, led by prospector Wilhelm Laser (Peter Kurth), to claim a stake in the Klondike Gold Rush. Amongst the group is Emily’s love interest, Carl (Marko Mandic), who is being pursued for crimes he committed in America. Driven either by greed, ignorance or poverty, none of the group can recognise, or afford to act upon, the precariousness of their journey.

The panoramic vistas, violent primitivism and emphasis on a struggle against nature reflect very strongly the style of Werner Herzog – particularly in the way that Arslan personifies nature as an endangering, threatening force, as in AGUIRRE: WRATH OF GOD, or RESCUE DAWN. In GOLD, as in both of Herzog’s films, there are fleeting, infrequent threats from the manmade world, but it is far more the natural environment that represents the palpable threat. GOLD need not look further than its environment for tension, and it is an unfortunately distracting side note that sees Carl pursued for the crimes of his past life. The film’s denouement is the uninventive climax of this narrative afterthought, a cheap addition of gunplay that removes any subtlety in the film’s tension.

GOLD has all the right ingredients in place, but they never quite register harmoniously

Though flawed, GOLD does deserve praise for the way it presents the bleak and harsh reality of departing unprepared into the wilderness. The lengthy, beautifully shot sequences displaying the vast environment demonstrate the interesting contradiction that such a naturalistic landscape could represent a threat. Although its repetition eventually becomes tedious, the addition of a lone, droning guitar to the soundtrack is, at first, an effective means of accompanying their hopeless voyage. There are impressive elements to GOLD, and when all are working in unison (which occurs too infrequently), it is a dramatic and profound film.

Frustratingly, GOLD might have been exceptional. Further impetus on the obsession that money can stir, omitting the needless gunplay and a greater reliance on the natural world as an antagonist would have made for a vastly more interesting film. To its credit, there is an ever-present tension bubbling under the surface; however, with the exception of one rather gruesome scene, it never quite manifests itself into actual visceral action. The film’s general understatement, particularly in relation to its performances, results not in an appropriately atmospheric tone, but instead a lack of emotional drive and a dragging second act. GOLD has all the right ingredients in place, but they never quite register harmoniously.

httpvh://youtu.be/vR19iaHSj8g