Presented in six chapters, Michael Glawogger’s epic documentary considers the function of manual labor in contemporary society through the eyes of his fascinating subjects that include coal miners in Ukraine, sulphur gatherers in Indonesia, animal butchers in Nigeria, shipbreakers in Pakistan and steelworkers in China. While the film is often unrelenting in its observational portrait of toil, particularly in the graphic scenes of cattle slaughter, Workingman's Death provides testament to very human struggles for survival.