Around the time the Chilean mining accident took place in 2010, I learned only the basics of what happened; namely the number of men trapped and the fact that fortunately, against the odds, they all made it out alive.

Starring Antonio Banderas, Juliette Binoche, Mario Casas, Gabriel Byrne and Rodrigo Santoro, The 33 is the story of the 33 men, those who helped get them out and their experience of the day of the accident through to the rescue.

Directed by Patricia Riggen, The 33 had me thinking about how much people really need each other to make it through. The survival of all the 33 took a lot of different decisions and actions both big and small, by the men trapped deep underground and people outside.

The movie is just over two hours and it did feel a little long at one point but that was likely more about myself along with probably a lot of the audience wanting and willing the suffering of the men to end already. We all knew that all would be well in the end, of course, whereas the 33 men had no idea.

Would I have watched this movie if the ending wasn’t as happy? Probably not because that would likely make it a horror movie and I’m not really partial to those. The story I did watch is well told and it’s about what it can take to survive when the odds are against you.

One thing you’ll certainly notice as you watch this movie is how good the music is. The man responsible is the unfortunately late, great James Horner, the composer better known for his work on James Cameron’s Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009). May he rest in Peace.

Watch The 33 because it’s good.

Happy Film Loving 🙂

G