A movie based on one of the biggest investment scandals in Canadian history opens on Friday.
Gold stars Matthew McConaughey as a prospector who teams up with a geologist (Édgar Ramírez) on a journey to find gold in an Indonesian jungle.
The film, written by Patrick Massett and John Zinman, is inspired by the events of Calgary-based Bre-X, whose claims of a massive gold discovery in Indonesia were proven false in 1997.
The hoax cost investors millions of dollars.
The movie is set in Reno, Nev., instead of Calgary, and features McConaughey playing the role of Kenny Wells (based on Bre-X CEO David Walsh.)
Walsh died in 1998. Exploration manager Michael de Guzman jumped from a helicopter to his death in 1997 and geologist John Felderhof was acquitted of charges of misleading shareholders and insider trading in 2007.
The movie has scored just 35 per cent on RottenTomatoes.com, with an audience score of 45 per cent.
Rolling Stone describes Gold as “slim pickings” but suggests McConaughey’s performance “keeps you riveted.”
WATCH: Matthew McConaughey tells ET Canada’s Rick Campanelli how he gained – and lost – 50 pounds to play Kenny Wells
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