Saw this movie at the theater. Based on the mixed reviews, I was not expecting much. But I was pleasantly surprised. I'm sure the book is better, but the movie is not bad. Actually, I found it to be pretty good. I wondered what the critics didn't like about it. I thought that if I had any gripes, they were first that the movie seemed too much tailored for an American audience, complete with well-known Hollywood-type stars speaking English. Most surprising was Juliette Binoche as the sister of a miner. She does a convincing job, but still, the surprise of seeing her in this role probably detracted from the realism. My second complaint was that the mining and drilling science did seem thin. You don't get to see the miners working or see what they do. At one point in the movie a mining expert just seems to appear out of nowhere with a laptop showing the mine in a fully-animated 3-Dimensional map. Very convenient. But how he got this map we'll never know. But overall, I liked the movie.
I was fortunate to watch live the rescue operation of some of the miners on TV. Chilean President, I think, was personally present to receive them, a great gesture indeed. My God it was an unbelievable rescue of the courageous miners ! America played its glorious part too in the form of rescue capsule, if I am not wrong. The joy of the family members of miners after rescue is only to be seen to be believed.
Hats Off to all the people involved in the operation. It was wonderful that all he thirty three miners were rescued. I don't know whether the book and later the movie captured all the agony and the thrill of rescue and the miners recovery thereafter.
Hats Off to all the people involved in the operation. It was wonderful that all he thirty three miners were rescued. I don't know whether the book and later the movie captured all the agony and the thrill of rescue and the miners recovery thereafter.
Just a note on a possible typo: the article says "This seems like a faith-inflected movie for the age of a Latin American populist pope, a parable of spiritual endurance with an eye on social and economic iniquities." I suspect the author meant "inequities", not "iniquities".
I read the brilliant, riveting book by Hector Tobar, so I wasn't anticipating any thing much better. But I fell in love with the courage and charm of the "33," and felt compelled to see how the film would treat these heroes. So glad I did! I thought the director and writers did a fantastic job with (as your reviewer notes) such a large, complex cast of characters. Of course, with so much detail and so many relationships covered in detail in the book, the film could never measure up. I was just pleased that it came as close as it did, with some great acting and the building of horror, suspense and elation. Warning: don't see it without a full box of tissues. The tears WILL fall.
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I thoroughly enjoyed Hector Tobar's excellent book, Deep Dark Down. Also, heard him speak about the book at the Library of Congress National Book Festival in September. I'll see the movie out of curiosity. Most times I think the book is better than the movie.
Great review!
I will probably buy a DVD when they come out because I don't like the crowds at movie theaters and the nearest cineplex is 65 miles from home. This is a classic story of real drama, not a typical Hollywood piece of garbage like the latest from Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise and Quentin Tarantino. But the MPAA lists "Hispanics" as the most frequent moviegoers compared to their share of the US population (25% attendance vs 17% of the population). Why was this film not made in Spanish and dubbed into English like it will be into Chinese, the largest global market and a pertinent one considering the frequency of mine disasters there? Given the cast, it could have easily been done. We have a mostly Spanish speaking cast and a Spanish speaking director, filming in Colombia about a disaster in Chile and speaking English. Hopefully we don't hear Lou Diamond Philips and Antonio Banderas faking a Chilean/American accent and dreaming of Taco Bell. As with "Frida", this was a major disappointment to me.
It works, believe me. They did it well.
I'm interested to see how they can make an event such as this, following the miners, very interesting. They already said it themselves, they are trying to make an uneventful part of the story, eventful. Though I am curious as to how it is going to turn out, I'm not positive I want to see it and be disappointed immensely.
The story is most compelling and was covered brilliantly by an article in the New Yorker in the last year or two. I haven't seen the film but Mr. Scott sums it up quite well...the story is "can't miss", the film version however?
We watched this reality in real time. Why do a Hollywood version? Oh, I forgot, they have to put a spin on reality and also keep celebrities employed.
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Another reason is that the proceeds from the movie will be shared by the miners themselves— based on a pact that they made with each other while still trapped underground, and reinforced by a legally binding agreement they all signed after the rescue.
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Another reason is to allow the miners themselves to earn some money from the telling of the story. They share in the proceeds from the project.
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Sounds like an inspiring movie. More inspiring would be if some of the proceeds went to the miners.
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I think I heard somewhere that some of the money will go to them.
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This movie, along with the book Deep Down Dark on which it's based, are the realization of a promise the miners made to each other while still trapped underground: to share the proceeds from telling their story. They do indeed benefit from the profits of both projects.
I believe I heard on an NPR interview with the director that some of the proceeds WILL go to the miners.
If god was with them then how come they got stuck underground in the first place? Was this her idea of a joke?
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And why did you not capitalize Her?
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