CHICAGO– In the art of film, the best way to approach a based-on-truth story – where the outcome is well known – is to create a point-of-view vision for the narrative. The story of “The 33,” the trapped miners from Chile who were rescued with worldwide attention, is a prime example of that vision.
 Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
Director Patricia Riggen and the screenplay adapters – Mikko Alanne, Craig Borten and Michael Thomas – fashioned a timeline for the rescue events that added impact and interest, both down with the trapped miners and up on the surface. There are some clichés, but they exist to add to the story, and give some presence to the situation. Overall, the film is engaging, and very earnestly performed. Despite knowing the outcome, it still manages to provide a sense of what it was like, which is about as successful as this type of film can be.
At the outset in 2010, we are introduced to the group of 33 miners working on an old mountainous gold vein. There is the family man, the guy about to have a baby, the retiree, the alcoholic and the outsider – your basic movie mine crew. As they go deep underground, over a mile, the mine collapses. With no outside communications and only three days of food for 33 men, the situation looks hopeless.
On the surface, the sister of the alcoholic, Maria (Juliette Binoche) is leading a group of family members demanding a rescue crew. This involves a Chilean bureaucrat (Rodrigo Santoro) and an expert engineer (Gabriel Byrne). Underground, the miners are losing hope, but a leader emerges named Mario (Antonio Banderas). At 17 days, they are found, but it will take another 50 days until they can begin to extract the 33.
Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The 33”
Mario (Antonio Banderas, foreground) and the Miners of ‘The 33’
Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The 33”
