The 33

Greetings again from the darkness. How do you structure a film based on a true story that lasted 69 days, occurred 5 years ago, and was followed live on TV by half of the global population? Director Patricia Riggen (Girl in Progress, 2012) delivers a film designed to tug on heartstrings, and is based on the book "Deep Down Dark" from Hector Tobar, as well as interviews with the key players.

In 2010, the San Jose copper/gold mine collapsed trapping 33 miners more than 2300 feet under tons of rubble and an unstable rock that dwarfed the Empire State Building. Through some pretty solid special effects, we are there for the collapse. It's this segment and the immediate reactions from the miners that provide the film's best segment. We feel the miner's sense of panic and doom as they begin to come to grips with their plight.

The film rotates between three struggles: the isolation of the miners struggling to survive, the tent city populated by their families struggling to maintain hope, and the Chilean government struggling with the politics and public relations of a rescue mission. From a character standpoint, each of these three segments is given a face. Antonio Banderas as Mario becomes the focal point of the miners. He searches for an escape route, takes charge of the (very limited) food rations, and acts as referee and light of hope in an extremely volatile situation. Juliette Binoche (yes the French actress) is Maria, the sister of one of the trapped miners and the most assertive of those pushing the government to attempt a rescue. Rodrigo Santoro plays Laurence Goldborne, Chile's Minister of Mining, and the one who pushes the government to move forward with the costly rescue mission.

Other key characters include Bob Gunton as Chile's President Pinera, Lou Diamond Phillips as "Don Lucho", the safety inspector, Gabriel Byrne as the chief engineer, James Brolin as Jeff Hart (leading the U.S. drilling team), Naomi Scott as Mario's wife, and three of the other miners: Oscar Nunez, Mario Casas, and Juan Pablo Raba.

The most bizarre segment comes courtesy of miner hallucinations. It's a fantasy-infused Last Supper sequence that plays out to the sounds of a Bellini opera, while the food and drink flow and the family members join in the joy. It's not difficult to imagine the brain taking these poor gentlemen to such places of mental torture.

As if the approach is to make the most viewer-friendly buried miner film possible, we aren't witness to much underground conflict, and the internal bickering within the Chilean government officials is kept to a minimum. We do get to see the media circus that occurred during the ordeal … of course, most of us witnessed it in real time.

Director Riggen has delivered a film that taps into the multitude of emotions for the different groups of people, rather than concentrating on the miserable situation of the miners. It's a challenge to keep us interested in a true story of which we all know the ending, but most viewers will stay engaged with the characters. It should also be noted that the minimalistic score is some of the last work from the late, great James Horner.

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.

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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We all remember five years ago when the story of 33 miners trapped 700 meters underground caught the world by storm. Everyone was asking: Are they alive? How are they going to make it out of there?. I think there's no need to say how it ended. Since then we've gotten tons of news announcing a big budget film about San José's rescue. The thing everyone's asking right know is: Is it any good?

First things first: Patricia Riggen. Her direction is absolutely brilliant, managing to alternate between tense and emotional scenes almost perfectly. The acting as well is outstanding, with Antonio Banderas (Mario Sepúlveda) and Rodrigo Santoro (Laurence Golborne) being the most notable. Also, Cote De Pablo (Jessica Salgado) brings a big emotional push into the movie with a beautiful interpretation of "Gracias a la Vida" by Violeta Parra. Juliette Binoche (María Segovia) was also very good. In general, every actor and actress in this movie gave a solid performance. The screenplay is very well written, giving the characters a lot of development and personality. The soundtrack (Composed by James Horner) is also very good, mixing chilean instruments with big orchestra compositions that fit the movie perfectly. The CGI is OK, nothing groundbreaking, but it gets the job done.

It's not a faultless film though, it has it's flaws. The are times when the movie loses it's pace and gets slow. Also, the editing, being mostly very good, it's evident that there where scenes in the movie that were cut from the final product, an issue that can leave some viewers confused. There's a little bit of shaky cam as well, not a big complain, but it can get very disorienting at times.

Overall, even if it's not perfect, it's still a great movie that succeeds at telling the story of the 33 miners. Hopeful and inspiring, it's worth watching at least once.

8.4/10

This film tells the story of 33 miners in Chile, who are trapped in a caved mine seven hundred metres deep. They have only three days of food in the safety chamber, and no way of contacting the outside world. Fortunately, the persistent minister of mining refuses to give up hope of getting them out alive.

It is very rare that a film makes me cry so much and for so long. Halfway into the film, I'm already in tears because of the miners' despair and desolation. The scene involving a ladder is very affecting. There seems to be no hope, and everything seems to be lost. Their will to survive is remarkable. The herculean rescue effort deserves much praise, while the family members clinging onto the slightest glimpse hope is very touching. Actually, the whole film is very touching. I feel so sorry for the miners, and miners in general because they risk their lives for little in return. Having the surviving miners appearing in the film is an excellent touch, reminding people that this is a true story that happened to these individuals.