THE 33 (2015)

Patricia Riggen’s film with a screenplay by Mikko Alanne, Craig Borten, Michael Thomas, Jose Rivera and Hector Tobar is based on the true 2010 event when 32 Chilean miners and 1 Bolivian miner were trapped 700 meters underground and over the case of 69 days how an international rescue team sought to free them from their dire predicament. This film has rather realistically recreated the story of what it was like for these men trying to survive on limited food and water, debilitating heat and their personal demons. It also tells the story of the family members who painstakingly kept a vigil at the mining site while pressuring government and company officials to act as swiftly as possible. After about two weeks contact was made and they were able to receive food and water and even telecommunications with the outside world, but it was a whole other matter when the rescuers were able to finally send down a pod that would be able to retrieve each of these men, one at a time. Though it’s a story that we all know the end to, I still found it’s execution well wrought and compelling to watch. I especially enjoyed the performances by Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kate del Castillo, Cote de Pablo, Gabriel Byrne, James Brolin and Bob Gunton among others. I enjoyed this film and found it both inspiring and fascinating in it’s execution.