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.

The 33 ReviewIn 2010, 33 miners were trapped nearly a half mile underground in the San Jose Mine that has been operational since 1889. The 33 men were without contact from the outside world for about two weeks with limited food and water. The 33 is a great movie for a dramatization of the historical events that happened in Chile. The special effect were were very realistic.The director of the movie was Patricia Riggen who is known for her movie Under the Same Moon and Lemonade Mouth. She was definitely qualified to make this movie because she has experience working for one of the biggest movie companies Disney. Patricia Riggen had a budget of 26 million dollars to make this movie and it was spent properly. It was filmed in two mines in Colombia and some scenes were shot in Chile. This is good because it uses the actual setting of the true event in the movie. This movie is pretty straight forward for the audience to understand what it is about. The point of the movie is stated in the trailers and descriptions, as well as in the movie itself. This movie was made for the United States since there were plenty of commercials and trailers released in the United States. Also it was made for Chile since this is where the real events take place. The 33 miners that were stuck underground watched the movie as well alongside the actors that portrayed themselves in the movie. I feel that this movie did a great job with the actors emotions. When the actual survivors watched it, I can only imagine how they felt thinking back on the event. Since this movie is based on history, it is important that it is historically accurate and true. One example of an inaccuracy is the drills that left the scene due to accidents and damages. The true event actually kept another drill drilling as a backup in case the United States drill plan did not work. Another inaccuracy of the movie, is how close the family members actual were to the rescue hole. In the movie, it shows them crowded around the hole some what close, but in reality the family members and journalists were about ninety meters away on a wooden platform. Another thing that was not in the film was how the miners were airlifted to a hospital as soon as they were brought up to the surface. Therefore the scene where the miner reunites with his sister would not have happened. I think this is an important topic that was omitted because it does not show how much danger the miners were still in once they reached ground level. This movie also seems to have some biases because it makes the United States look the best and get all the glory of the rescue because every other country left. Also it targets the Bolivian in the movie, so the viewers can guess it made for more of a Chilean audience. However this bias does not get in the way of telling the historical event the right way. Viewers still get a great representation of what happened in real life. Overall this film was properly made. The sets that they used looked realistic and believable considering they did shoot the film in a mine in Columbia. The special effects that they used did look as if a real mine was collapsing. Also, the characters that this film used were believable because they acted the part; meaning they looked and acted as if they were starving, going crazy, or at the brink of dying. The language that the characters used seemed appropriate for the situation they were in as well as the time period. Although this film was remarkably made, I think that there are some areas to improve on. Just to name one, I think they should have showed the airlifts to the hospital that happened in real life. Also real life footage could have been useful for the movie. This would get some personal emotion to some viewers so they can look at in a different way than just another movie. Another thing they could have added was a few scenes showing what the miners might have done once they got out of the mine a few later. In conclusion, The 33 was a great film that gives a great representation of what happened to the miners in the San Jose mine a half mile into the ground for 69 days in Chile.

In 2010, the unthinkable happened. 33 miners were trapped in an unstable mine for 69 days. In the beginning of the film the 33 miners go into the mine thinking it is an ordinary day mining for gold, but it soon turns out for the worst. The mine begins to collapse and everyone panics. They drove to the refuge, which was a safe space where there is food and water. For 14 days they were low on food and everyone was restless. Finally, the people that were up top trying to get the miners drilled into the refuge and could finally communicate to the miners. They sent food, drinks, iPod, and magazines to the miners to keep them occupied. The people on top said it would take 3 months to extract the miners. They ran into difficulties, but in the end all 33 miners were saved. The director of the film is Patricia Riggen. She went to Columbia University and received her masters in screen writing and directing. She was asked to direct a Disney Channel original movie Lemonade Mouth and also Girl in Progress releasing in 2012. Then her next project was The 33. The movie was released in August 2015, 5 years after the accident, in Chile. While directing this film she wanted the cast and crew to get the full experience on what these miners through. So, her cast and crew spent a total of 35 days filming in salt mines. Some of the desert scenes were in Chile and two mine scenes where in Columbia. She wanted to show that a girl can direct a movie that is so masculine. The next movie that she did was Miracles of Heaven. The theme of these movies is to not give up hope and keeping going. Patricia Riggen made this film to remember the accident and the pride that Chile has to keep going. She wanted to show what the miners actually went through because many people don't know the hardships those men went through. The reasons for the film is explicitly stated because the miners are stuck in a cave and they struggle. They don't give up hope and try to survive with little help and while the supplies were low. It was until the workers got to the miners that the struggle and hardships were real. The miners had little food everyday and it was getting to a time where the miners were going at each other. But, the character Mario kept everyone in line until help arrived. This film was made for the world because this was a live event that was on TV and not many people understood why this happened or what is happening. In the movie they showed why they were stuck and the problems on why they couldn't get them out. Now they showed what happened people know what it is like. There are many historical errors in this film. During the drilling of the rescue. The movie said that 2 drills broke down and couldn't help anymore. In the real event the drills were still working, but they were back up drills on the side for if anything happened to the main drill. Also, the 33 men after they got rescued were taken to the hospital right after and the movie said that they walked around and stayed with the families. Also, the mine afterwards closed after the event. The director does not omit important topics of this film and does a very good job going through the event. It is somewhat biased because it shows the mine is a bad guy in the film and that the President of Chile does really nothing to this event in his own country. He biased things does not get in the way of the film because they don't focus on those points and the story moves along. The characters are believable because they showed raw emotional when they were stuck in the mine and even when they were reunited with their families. The acting is really good and the language was appropriate for this time period. The language was somewhat Spanish and many spoke in English, but with a Spanish accent. Some ways to improve it is to get rid of biased and focus on the story. Also, when the mine was going to collapse it was hard to follow who was who, and where the refuge was. The setting was dark and even though they had lamp lights, they didn't use them. Some parts the miners had background light even though they were really far underground. Overall, this movie was really good and the event was on point with the acting and the emotional feeling of this film.

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.