Illustrious Energy (1988)

Chan and his older mate Kim prospect for gold in 1890s Otago. Marooned until they can pay off their debts and return to China; they’ve been fruitlessly working their claim for 12 and 27 years respectively. Chan faces racism, isolation, extreme weather, threatening surveyors, opium dens and a circus romance.

Production

New Zealand Film Commission · Mirage Films