Movie Recalls ‘The 33’ Trapped in a Chilean Gold Mine

Movie Recalls ‘The 33’ Trapped in a Chilean Gold Mine

A new movie, “The 33,” tells about the famous 2010 mining accident in Chile.

The 100-year-old San Jose copper¹ and gold mine collapsed³ over the heads of 33 mine workers. The collapse² left the miners 700 meters underground.

The film’s director, Patricia Riggen, attempts to revisit 69 days of agony for the men below and their families above.

"Is that the only way in?"

"The only way in, the only way out."

Five years ago, lack of safety was an accepted fact of life at the San Jose mine. In the film, the 33 men start their long and difficult descent through a tunnel into their work area. But before too long, disaster struck.

After the tunnel collapse, the miners’ crowd into a five-meter wide space built to hold 30 men. The miners called it, the “Refuge.”

"One, two...33. We're all here..."

They have only three days' worth of food.

"We have to ration⁴ it carefully if we plan to survive down here until we are rescued. Rescued?"

Antonio Banderas plays miner Mario Sepulveda.

"Mainly for the people to know (he) is the guy that  put some order down there and tried to stretch life as much as possible with the possibilities that they have and the resources that they have were minimal⁵."

The film is divided into two separate worlds. One is the miners’ large cave, where feelings of hunger and hopelessness give way to prayer. The other is Camp Hope, a temporary encampment of families outside the mine's collapsed entrance.

"We want answers! It's been two days and no one has told us anything!"

Maria Segovia is the sister of one of the men. She is as central to the miners’ rescue as Mario Sepulveda is inside the mine.

Actress Juliette Binoche plays Maria.

"She was called the mayor of Camp Hope. She was the force to start with. I had to show in very short time, a few scenes, that the force of those women, you know, really took...made the plan to take off and save them."

With family, friends and the world watching, the Chilean government ordered rescue crews to keep working day and night. After 17 days, crews reach the miners. The film then shows the technically⁶ difficult and hazardous⁷ operation of bringing the men to the surface, one by one.

"My readings indicate that a massive rock has placed itself here. We're talking about 700,000 tons of diorite, or twice the mass of the Empire State Building."

“The 33” runs like a disaster movie. Its special effects and the human interactions inside and outside the mine add to the tension. It is the memory of the actual mine disaster and rescue operation that adds seriousness to the production.

The movie is short on character development. Aside from Sepulveda and Segovia, we learn very little about the rest of the players. The film also does not explain why the miners received no compensation nor what Chilean officials have done to improve mine safety.

Words in This Story

agony – n. extreme mental or physical pain

descent – n. a way of going down something

tunnel – n. a passageway

ration – v. to control the amount of something

hazardous – adj. involving risk or danger

compensation – n. payment; something that is done or given to make up for damage, trouble

1 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

5 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

6 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

7 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。