The 33 (2015)

Strong and Moving!

Awesome Movie

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Based on the real-life event, when a gold and copper mine collapses, it traps 33 miners underground for 69 days. The 33 is an excellent tale about 33 miners who just wanted to survive but also about the people who wanted to get them out. The perfomances from the entire cast are quite strong especially from Antonio Banderas, sure it has it's flaws as a whole but it's one of Banderas best films in recent memory and one that will definitely keep viewers hooked. (9/10)

THE 33 is a workable Chilean drama about the real-life disaster and rescue tale of the famous 33 miners who spent months trapped below ground after a cave-in. The recent story will be familiar to all of us who follow world news, which robs this tale of some of the suspense, but otherwise it's quite an efficient film. I don't think it will ever be a favourite, because not much actually happens after the initial disaster. A lot of time is spent on building conflict with the group, but generally everybody got on and nobody went crazy. I could have done without all of the sentiment and the family relationship material which only serves to slow things down quite considerably. Still, a decent cast has been assembled here, including Antonio Banderas, James Brolin, Bob Gunton, and Lou Diamond Phillips, so it's worth a look.

The film The 33 directed by Patricia Riggen depicts the events of a mining incident that happened on August 10, 2010 in . The day started just as every normal mining day did, the 33 men suited up for work, got into their bus that shuttled them down 1,700 feet and got to mining. However, in an instant, disaster struck. The mountain in which they were mining collapsed around them, leaving them stranded with minimal food and water. The movie unfolds by describing the living conditions in which they must adapt to in the 69 days the men are buried. The movie also includes the efforts in which the Chilean government took to save the men, how the families strong and never lost hope that their loved ones were going to make it out alive, and the heartfelt, much anticipated rescue that ensued on October 13, 2010, almost 3 months later to the day. The film itself was extremely well down. The 33 stayed true to the actual events that took place, while also keeping the movie suspenseful as well as entertaining. The film did not seem to drag or get boring, despite the fact that being enclosed in a mine for over 3 months couldn't be very eventful. The viewer was constantly left eager to see what was going to happen. Were the miners going to be rescued? Will they starve before help arrives? Is the government going to give up on them? All of these thoughts race through the audience's head leaving them starving for answers. The director of this film, Patricia Riggens does a beautiful job in making the film both entertaining and realistic. Riggens is a Mexican film director who has won numerous awards for her work such as an ALMA Award for Special Achievement. Her credentials for making this film are good. Riggens has directed other popular films such as the Disney classic Lemonade Mouth in 2011 as well as Revolucion, another historical film which describes how the Mexican Revolution affects Mexico today. The movie also contained a 26 million dollar budget (US dollars), which is low for the national budget, however even with the relatively low budget, the film still has an authentic feel and is, in my opinion, very well done. The majority of The 33 was filmed salt mine of Nemocón, Colombia. Since the set actually took place in a mine, it brings the feel ad accuracy of the movie to another level. The viewer gets a taste of being stranded almost two thousand feet underground. When questioned, Riggens stated how directing The 33 was liberating for her since it was such a rough and traumatic event. She feels being able to tackle and create such a movie as a women is a step in the right direction. The overall goal of this film was to educate the world about the terrifying events that took place in a Chilean mine on August 10, 2010. The film was most likely made for the survivors of this incident and to honor how heroic they were as people. The director made sure of this by including the final scene in which the original 33 are together again, smiling and laughing portraying the bond they formed during their 69 days together underground. The film also was probably made to inspire and give the message of perseverance to its audience. When watching The 33, you can't help but to feel compelled to act as the survivors and keep going through the obstacles in life. The film itself held pretty true to the actual story of The 33 men buried alive. There were however, some small errors that took place throughout the movie. For example, there was one scene in which the drill finally breaks through the rock and into the area in which the miners are trapped, the movie shows a stream of light flood into the room, where as in reality there is no way that the sunlight could be seen from that far down. Also, the film states that the first man rescued is a miner named Alex Vega, however in reality the actual first miner saved was a man named Florencio Antonio Avalos Silva at 12:11 on October 13, 2010. After being rescued, the film also shows the miners running into the arms of loved ones, when actually upon rescue, the men were immediately shuttled to the hospital for medical care. Since the film stayed fairly close to the true story, it didn't really contain any biased views. Overall, this historical film was very well done. The actors played very true to their parts, making what they were going through very believable. The filmmaking and directing style also aided to the success of this film, by using dark, somber lighting and dramatic scenes such as when the mine first collapses it creates a suspenseful, informative, but yet entertaining feel. Everything dialogue and setting related seemed pretty true to what actually happened as well, another plus. The only thing that I wish I could change was the things that didn't stay true to what really happened. All in all, I liked this film and therefore would give it a eight out of 10, only losing two points for the occasional historical inaccuracy. I still thoroughly enjoyed The 33 and would recommend it.

Copiapó, Chile is the home of the copper and gold San José mine. There is one way in and the same way out. Don Lucho (Lou Diamond Phillips) warns the manager about the shifting mountain as mirrors placed at strategic places start cracking. The large cracks precipitate a massive cave-in and 33 miners manage to descend into the refuge. Mario Sepúlveda (Antonio Banderas) tries to be the leader of this chaotic group. They find the refuge poorly stocked, the radio unconnected, and the escape chimney ladder unfinished. The company tries to lock down everyone but some escape to spread the news. The families led by María Segovia (Juliette Binoche), sister of a miner, arrive to confront security. Minister of Mining Laurence Golborne is told by the manager that it's essentially hopeless. The President sends André Sougarret (Gabriel Byrne) to lead the rescue. There is no confirmation of the survivors until the first drill breaks through. The miners would be trapped for 69 days in an international media sensation.It's a relatively good drama up to the first drill breakthrough. It has a little thrill and even some humor. The international cast is a little weird with some unnecessary white-washing. All of that is fine but the last thirty minutes are anti-climatic. The inevitable rescue has no drama or tension. That last quarter just keeps going and going. The few interesting bits do not add up to a compelling conclusion.