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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In this true-life story, the title relates to the number of miners trapped in a copper mine in Chile, in 2010. It's a compelling premise. We feel for the miners in their small, claustrophobic hole some two thousand feet below the surface. And we empathize with anxious family and friends above ground who desperately want the men rescued.

Based on the follow-up book "Deep Down Dark", the script has some problems. Characterization is minimal. Barely twenty minutes in, the mine's collapse supersedes characterization. If you're not familiar with the people by then, too bad; miners and their family members tend to take on a stick figure quality, one character pretty much blends in with some other character.

English dialogue in a Spanish speaking country comes across as unrealistic. But much worse is the stilted, contrived nature of the chat; overwrought drama, anguish, arguing, and outward display of emotions reek of Hollywood talking, not the people who experienced this event. Despite the overly Hollywood feel to the script, the final twenty minutes are compelling and inspiring.

Casting and acting are generally acceptable, except for the presence of Antonio Banderas in the lead role. As happens so often, Hollywood inserts big name actors into lead roles, which accentuates the Hollywood feel of a film, rendering the movie contrived. I would have preferred a lesser known actor.

Background music consists of Spanish songs, which is nice. Color cinematography does a nice job in a low-light environment. Some segments in Act II could have been excised or shortened, as they either slow down the plot or they convey the impression of filler.

The main reason to see this film is because of its real-life premise. The event really happened. How that event was handled by different characters, and the emotions it evoked during a span of many days is what gives the film its potency, a flawed movie script notwithstanding.

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 ****.

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

Mining is a dangerous business. Going deep underground to dig minerals out of the earth means subjecting yourself to extreme heat, back-breaking work and the inhalation of dust that can lead to the pulmonary disease of silicosis. If none of these kill you slowly, the mine itself can kill you quickly and without warning. Miners die from accidents caused by their equipment, gas leaks and explosions and, of course, sudden collapses of the rock surrounding them. All told, this difficult work kills thousands of miners every year (as many as 12,000 by one count). These facts and statistics are brought to life in the true story of the 2010 Chilean copper-gold mine collapse portrayed in the drama "The 33" (PG-13, 2:07).

The film opens with a retirement party for one miner who is about to complete 45 years of service to the private company that owns and operates the San José mine near Copiapó, Chile. Several of his long-time co-workers are at the party with their families. Their is shift foreman Luis "Don Lucho" Urzúa (Lou Diamond Phillips), experienced miner and natural leader Mario Sepúlveda (Antonio Banderas), father-to-be Álex Vega (Mario Casas) and Elvis Presley-loving miner Edison Peña (Jacob Vargas), among others.

On the morning of August 5, 2010, these men took the long and winding truck ride three miles into the mine, completely unaware that they were about to become victims of one of the worst mining disasters in Chile's history. Luis saw it coming, but the safety concerns that he expressed to the mine's manager went unheeded. That afternoon, a rock the height of the Empire State Building and the width of two of them fell into the mine, trapping 33 men inside. Seeing the devastating cave-in and its effects on the men and their surroundings, it seems like a miracle that none of the 33 died in the initial collapse. Although some would say that the real miracle would be if no one died in mining accidents, or at least if this collapse had occurred during off-duty hours, rather than the miners having to get trapped and suffer, while their families waited in agony for news about the fate of their loved ones.

It was those families who became the impetus for a full-on rescue attempt. Although Chile's President (Bob Gunton) is reluctant to get his government involved with an accident at a privately-owned mine, his new Minister of Mining, Laurence Golborne (Rodrigo Santoro) convinces President Piñera to let him go to the site and see what he can do. The families, led by María Segovia (Juliette Binoche), the estranged sister of trapped miner Darío Segovia (Juan Pablo Raba), had gathered outside the locked gates of the mining complex. These siblings, wives, mothers, fathers and friends demanded action, and action they got. In spite of the prevailing opinion that the miners were probably dead or would die long before they could be rescued, Minister Golborne brings in heavy-duty drills and works with renowned mining expert André Sougarret (Gabriel Byrne) to try and reach the miners before it's too late. Meanwhile, the miners ration food and try to keep each other's spirits up, even as several of them fight and suffer from various medical conditions, as hope fades that they will ever see their families again.

"The 33" is exceptional. Based on the book "Deep Down Dark" by Héctor Tobar, the film version takes few liberties with the facts and fashions a very compelling narrative. The screenplay succinctly, but effectively sets the stage and develops its characters – both above and below ground. We feel the desperation of both the miners and their families. As the miners' story unfolds, concurrently with that of their families and those attempting to rescue them, Patricia Riggens directs with great pacing (which is helped by nearly perfect editing). She also gets great performances from her cast and blends the talents and experience of well-known and little-known actors wonderfully. Although the movie did drag a little as it neared its dramatic conclusion, this is a film which tells its story with drama, sensitivity and even some humor and makes it relatable to anyone who ever came to the aid of someone in trouble. "A"