Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong
Five years ago, 33 Chilean miners had the tragic misfortune of getting trapped in the San José Mine for 69 days. The 33 details their stories and inspiring, miraculous escape. The Movie balances the necessary melodrama given the circumstances, with strong performances, particularly its leading man.
The 33 focuses on Mario (Antonio Banderas), Don Lucho (Lou Diamond Phillips) and their 31 colleagues whom go on one of their many mining adventures for work. Don Lucho raises concerns to the boss of a privatized mine that it is potentially unsafe. This in return sees him tasked with having to bring-up even more gold. Realizing the counter-productiveness of resistance, Don Lucho blindly leads his team into the mine despite being aware of the risks. Once the mine collapses, chaos breaks and everyone is in panic mode with a lurking sense of self-destruction among themselves as they try to find an escape before rations run out.
Faced with absolute fear and realization that no one is going to save these miners, the government opts to keep a distance – this being a privatized matter – although Laurence (Rodrigo Santoro) refuses to sit idly. He rallies-up drills and attempts to take action, but it is the efforts of Maria (Juliette Binoche) which force the hand of the government to do something and try to bring-back the 33 men, including her own brother.
Directed by Patricia Riggen, the Film is executed well although we wished it felt a bit more intense at times. All eyes are on the fantastic work by Antonio Banderas, Lou Diamond Phillips and Juliette Binoche, whom capture our attention. This however that does not save the Movie from sometimes-slow pacing and there is a bit of danger in redundancy retelling something that very much is still in the recent social conscience.
Warner Bros. Canada release THE 33 in theatres on Friday, November 13, 2015.
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