Los 33 de San José

This is a Chilean dramatization of the mining accident in Chile in august 2010, which drew the entire world's attention. 33 miners are trapped 700 meter under ground in a mine, when there's a "cry of the mountain" which makes them alone without contact with the outside world. The drama went in for nothing less than 69 days.

We follow the workers on the bus to the mines, going down for a new days work, several hundred meters under ground, seeing them get trapped and the families waiting for life signs of them up above. The work to find a solution, both to get contact with them, and the seemingly impossible task of getting them out. This is a no fuzz movie. A dramatization without a Hollywood touch, and one of the very few Chilean movies I've gotten the chance to see. It's well done.

The acting is good, and I appreciate the work fond here. This is the first of many films which will depict this story. The next which is coming is "Los 33", and Hollywood also is having some plans. This is the kind of story which makes legends. Being trapped like this in the dark mines, with little water, even less food and together with a lot of different men with different psyches and different beliefs. We follow the society they make, listening to the drilling sounds up above, the frustration and the quarreling, but also the smart discussions on how to keep everyone alive.

A remarkable work, less a film about the events than the film of them. The camera largely stays with the miners trapped 700 meters underground, and with the rescue group of fellow miners and engineers and the miners' wives and daughters in the immediate area around the mine. The international circus is scarcely mentioned nor are the safety failures which were no revelation to the men who knew the mine was unsafe but needed the money and worked there anyway. There are no production frills and the cast convey an authenticity that makes one feel they could be playing themselves. It is an affecting work that evokes powerful emotions and comes across as a heart felt tribute more than an entertainment.