What it's about:
In 2010, the eyes of the world turned to Chile, where 33 miners had been buried alive by the catastrophic explosion and collapse of a 100-year-old gold and copper mine. Over the next 69 days, an international team worked night and day in a desperate attempt to rescue the trapped men as their families and friends, as well as millions of people globally, waited and watched anxiously for any sign of hope. But, 200 stories beneath the surface, in the suffocating heat and with tensions rising, provisions, and time, were quickly running out. A story of resilience, personal transformation and the triumph of the human spirit, the film takes us to the Earth’s darkest depths, revealing the psyches of the men trapped in the mine, and depicting the courage of both the miners and their families, who refused to give up.
What we thought:
The remarkable true story has all the right ingredients for a gripping movie: survival against the odds, a daring rescue mission, the triumph of the human spirit and the bond of brotherhood.
Antonio Banderas leads the cast. He plays Mario Sepulveda who assumes the role of the leader of the group when the supervisor Luis (Lou Diamond Phillips) is racked with guilt for putting the men in this position.
Mario is a charismatic leader who tries his best to keep the men's spirits up but as their meagre supplies dwindle, hunger and desperation cause friction between the men.
While the men fight to stay alive underground subplots are incorporated to show what's happening aboveground, mainly focusing on the families and the rescue mission headed by the minister of mining (Rodrigo Santoro).
The cast deliver superb performances and it is clear that they were invested in doing justice to the story.
It's really hard to fault a movie that is filled with good intentions and while the story itself is gripping the movie floundered in holding my attention.
While the backstories were incorporated to give the story more depth, some were really not necessary and felt like it was added to prolong the suspense.
With that said it's really hard not to be moved by the story. When you finally see the real faces behind the characters it will tug at your heartstrings.
This is a film definitely worth seeing. Overall the film did a good job at bringing to life the story that was only a news article to most of us.