The 33

"That's not a rock, that's the heart of the mountain. She finally broke."

Five years ago the eyes of the entire South American population were placed on a relatively unknown small mining town in Chile. When the San Jose mine collapsed in Copiapo, 33 miners were trapped under more than 2000 feet, and the news travelled fast. It isn't uncommon to hear about these tragic mining accidents, but what stood out here was that the family members never lost hope and established camp near the site to force authorities to not give up and continue the rescue efforts. After two and a half weeks of uncertainty and against all odds, the rescuers managed to contact the refuge in the mine where all 33 miners reported to be alive and well. That was just the beginning of a long and exhaustive rescue effort that would last more than two months, and that every media channel covered 24 hours a day. The story is recent and we all saw it take place live on our TV sets, so the real question I had for Patricia Riggen's film was whether or not she could make this captivating enough to hold our interest despite the familiarity of the story. Surprisingly she succeeded. The film is deeply flawed and for commercial purposes it had an international cast that spoke in English with a forced Chilean accent. I hate movies that do this (if you want to tell the story in English then just have the actors speak in plain English; you're not more convincing because you do it with an accent), but despite that pet peeve of mine, the film managed to draw me in emotionally and I found it to be a beautiful and honest tribute. I can understand those who criticize the movie because it isn't perfect, but there were several emotional scenes where I literally had goose bumps all over my arms, and that is always an indicator for me that the movie is accomplishing its purpose.

One of the main characters in this film, the miner who kept the group together under those critical conditions, was Mario Sepulveda (Antonio Banderas). He never lost hope and promised the rest of his friends that he would keep them alive. His wife, Escarlette (Naomi Scott), was one of the supporters who decided to set camp outside the site to force authorities to continue their rescue efforts. The other main supporter was Maria Segovia (Juliette Binoche) who refused to believe that her brother, Dario (Juan Pablo Raba) was dead. Along with other family members and with the help of the media they put pressure on the government to save their lives. The Mining Minister, Laurence Golborne (Rodrigo Santoro), and mining expert, Andre Sougarret (Gabriel Byrne), were given the difficult task to come up with a plan to rescue these miners who were buried deep underground. Meanwhile under the heart of the mountain, Mario was in charge of keeping the group spirit alive and avoiding they end up driving each other crazy due to the lack of food and water. He lifted Alex's (Mario Casas) spirit when he was falling into despair reminding him that his pregnant wife Jessica (Cote de Pablo) was waiting for him, he also protected the only Bolivian in the crew, Carlos Mamani (Tenoch Huerta), who was pushed aside by everyone else for being a foreigner, and he also encouraged Don Lucho (Lou Diamond Phillips), who felt had failed the team because he knew the security conditions were bad. Rigged delivers both sides of the story: the 33 miners struggling to survive from the inside and the family members and the rescue team fighting to save them from the outside.

I wasn't really into the film during its first thirty minutes because I was upset the characters were speaking in English with Spanish accents (to make matters worse there is a scene where a famous Chilean TV star named Don Francisco shows up and gives a report in Spanish), but midway into the movie the emotional drama picks up. There is a superb scene in which the miners are imagining eating their last supper together, and it was one of the most touching scenes I've seen this year. The visual effects weren't mesmerizing, but the collapse of the mine is believable. It takes a while to get used to the dark cinematography inside the mines where you can't tell most of the characters apart from each other. I'd say there are only about five miners who you can recall from the film, the rest are just there and are given no personality whatsoever. Those are some of my minor complaints for this film, but other than that the material was handled respectfully and James Horner's final musical composition helps build the emotional moments. Another memorable moment was when Cote de Pablo sings a beautiful song, Gracias a la Vida, while the families are awaiting for any news from the rescue team. Antonio Banderas delivers a great performance as Mario and he is one of the reasons why the dramatic moments worked so well. Despite knowing the story, it was still exciting and emotional to experience it in this flawed but touching film. There is also a funny and recurring gag on one of the miners (Oscar Nuñez) who had his wife and lover waiting for him in the camp. The film might not be entirely accurate, but it is still a well made film and a decent tribute.

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I don't believe in reviewing over 10 pages, so here's my quick take on it... I really enjoyed this film in general, I remember the story well because I'm an avid news reader, BUT.. . Probably the biggest issue, (at least for me, and I'll leave the long-form reviewers write about the rest), was the casting. I found it incredibly cringe-worthy whenever Juliette Binoche was on screen, as if some tan makeup was going to make her Chilean, the Chilean Minister of Mining being a male model in his 20's, but most egregious of all was the godawful choice of Bog Gunton as president of Chile. Really?? We've all seen him in a dozen films and series playing the role of the power-hungry, overly ambitious and morally bankrupt politician, which he's always portrayed adequately but never amazing, but it was an incredible shame to cast him at all, never mind in the role of CHILEAN president!! It would take most viewers right out of the film, and especially make most cinephiles just cringe. I don't know what word would describe it better than that. All that being said, it's a very enjoyable movie honouring the right kind of human cooperation and national effort. Too bad it was so much of a political stunt, without which opportunity the government of Chile would've let those miners die without batting an eye.

I enjoyed watching this true story about 33 Chilean miners trapped in a mine. It was a good story about resilience, the human spirit, and working together. I also loved the Elvis impersonator. Even though I knew they were going to be rescued, the story still kept me on the edge of my seat. The cast worked well together, and everything about this movie was well done. The mine scenes were riveting.

*** out of ****.

I just saw this at Twin Cities Film Fest this weekend. The 33 chronicled the event that gripped the international community when 33 Chilean miners were buried under 100- year-old gold and copper mine and trapped for 69 days.

Director Patricia Riggen did a phenomenal job telling a compelling story of human resilience and the courage of both the miners and their families above ground who refused to give up. Great ensemble cast featuring Antonio Banderas, Juliette Binoche, Lou Diamond Philips, Rodrigo Santoro, and Gabriel Byrne. It was exquisitely shot by Checco Varese, which was shot on location in two different mines in Bolivia, Colombia. It certainly looked authentic as the environment of the set made the actors felt as if they were real miners for a while. The 33 miners were also consulted for the film.

There were moments that might have felt too 'Hollywoodized' but overall the film didn't feel emotionally manipulated. The genuinely stirring score came from the late James Horner, which the film paid tribute in the end. It's not a perfect film but I think the film was respectful to the subject matter and did the story and those miners justice.

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Based on the true story of 33 miners who go into a mine in Chile to have a big rock get in-between them and the surface, and they have to survive long enough to be rescued.

I thought the movie was very detailed and complete about what the miners and their families went through during this ordeal. I never felt I missed any part of it.

It was never boring, always interesting, which I did not expect, but a lot went on in those three mouths and it was captured wonderfully on the screen.

Antonio Banderas was great as Mario, who kept the men together long enough to survive.

And even though I knew the outcome, the 33 makes you feel for each character, which allows suspense.

Well done and heartwarming, hitting on the rights spots and leaving me all filled up inside.