REVIEW: “The 33” gives viewers good vibes

By Isabella Ainsworth,
Bluedevilhub.com Staff–

“The 33,” which details the 2010 collapse of a Chilean mine shaft and the miners who were stuck underground for 69 days, is an enjoyable movie. Although the story itself isn’t perfectly told, the movie manages to get the point across and end sweetly.

The film, which stars Antonio Banderas as Mario Sepulveda, does, however, run into some problems. It tries to cover too much–the community from which the miners come, the accident, the people who try to get the miners back out and their setbacks, the family members who wait anxiously near the mine– but because of its wide-ranging scope, it fails to deal with everything it wants to talk about effectively.

And because the movie tries to cover everything, it doesn’t spend enough time on what I think is the the most remarkable part of the story–that after 17 days, all 33 miners somehow managed to stay alive. While worried family members are certainly endearing, and the details of the rescue mission are informative, the crux of the story is how the miners had enough hope and organization to power through a seemingly hopeless situation. The movie misses an opportunity to emphasize the remarkable endurance of the miners.

Most decidedly inspirational movies like this one run the risk of oversimplifying. Dealing over and over again with the odds that have to be overcome, they don’t mention at all the flaws and unlikeable parts of characters that ultimately make it easier to identify with them.

“The 33” is no exception. Character flaws are either nonexistent or quickly solved, like when one miner eats a box of cookies at the beginning of the accident before realizing the importance of rationing; he ends up forgoing some of his ensuing rations to give back to the other miners. Or when the foreman, who knew that the mine was dangerous and neglected to tell the miners, makes up for it by being the last one to leave the refuge.

The movie also runs into a problem with the language. The Chilean miners spoke Spanish, but the movie is in English. That is an understandable decision, considering most audiences don;’t speak Spanish. However, to remind us that the Chilean miners spoke Spanish, everyone in the film speaks English with a Spanish accent. To put so much effort into maintaining just a small semblance of authenticity seems silly and the director, Patricia Riggen, should have just chosen one language and gone with it.

Overall, “The 33” is not a bad movie. The plot is enthralling enough that poor decisions about scope and language don’t mess it up. And the ending scene, when the Chilean miners reunite with their families, is so powerful that it makes you forget about minor technical flaws the movie had. After all, the warm, snug feeling you get when Antonio Banderas finally gets to hug his daughter again is worth a slightly confusing plot.