The 33 (2015) Review!!

Synopsis – Based on the real-life event, when a gold and copper mine collapses, it traps 33 miners underground for 69 days.

My Take – Honestly, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie when I first saw the trailers. The story sounded interesting and without much knowledge of the actual tragedy, the film instantly reminded me of the recently released Everest (Read the review here). So I thought how can anyone mess up a movie like that? Well, as soon as I saw that the film was in English I started to worry a little bit. What’s wrong with using the native tongue and giving us subtitles? 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. Whatever the reason was, it worried me a little bit. Fortunately, the film was more satisfying than I was initially expecting, largely because, especially in the wake of the tragic events echoing in multiple different countries and countless causalities and injuries all over the world, it’s a film that really emphasizes some element of human bonding in the wake of a tragedy. Granted, the characters in this film are pretty thin and bound together only by seriously unfortunate circumstances, but that doesn’t entirely matter. The film focuses on their bonding and their acts of cooperation in a time when survival seems astronomically unlikely. Based on a true story, this movie makes for a complete year for disaster movies. We got action packed fictional San Andreas (Read the review here), and then the based on true story Everest and then now this. 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 traveled 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. So the real question I had for director Patricia Riggen was whether or not she could make this captivating enough to hold our interest despite the familiarity of the story. Surprisingly she succeeded. 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. The story follows the miners a couple of hours before the actual event. 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 others 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. 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. 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. 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. The performances are overall decent. Antonio Banderas bring the natural amount of energy in his character here as he does in every role. Lou Diamond Phillips did just enough to give his character life, particularly in portraying Luis’ guilt over the mine’s inadequacies. On the surface level Rodrigo Santoro did also well to keep the emotional side of the movie going, balancing the miners’ underground scenes. Juliette Binoche almost always succeeds in grabbing attention and giving life to her role and its story plot. I think she really made maria a unique character considering the character’s struggles and her relationship with Dario. On the whole ‘The 33′, may not be a perfect film, yet succeeds in being a hopeful & inspiring tale of the actual event. Worth a watch!