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Reviews
The 33 (2015)
Worth it is you like a good story
Half a mile under the earth surface, darkness all around, starvation on your mind, what do you do? Persevere. This is what 33 men of the San Jose Mining Company did from September to November as they were trapped with little food, water, or oxygen in an unstable mine. Based on true events, Patricia Riggen directs the film telling how the 33 miners were isolated from the outside world, stuck deep below ground for 69 days. Although filmed mostly in Colombia during 2014, this daring tale tells of the actual events played out at the San Jose copper-gold mine in Copiapo, Chile during 2010.
Director Riggen wanted to tell the tale and heroics of the incident from the miner's view, while also getting the point across that not giving up on hope and surviving for your loved ones can push you to persevere through life's toughest issues. The film accurately portrays the historical events that unfolded, giving a somewhat day by day view on what happened. Since this is an actual event, the film was made to show the incident and how the miners were rescued.
When it comes to the history, the film does an alright job being on target. It shows how difficult it was for the miners to survive in a small area with little water, and the toll it took on their family members going without contact for two weeks. The rescue scene was the most fabricated. In the movie it shows over a thousand family members, friends, and news reporters gathered close to the rescue hole. In reality, no one was allowed close to the rescue area. All reporters and most family members were forced to view the spectacle far away. Also, the drilling process in the movie had some Hollywood twists. Although there were three plans set out to get to the miners, from Australia, Canada, and the United States, the reality wasn't how the movie portrayed it. The film shows the Australian and Canadian crews practically giving up after some hiccups, and the US' drill getting right to business and eventually finding the miners. The American drill was first to reach them, but the other drills still continued to work in case of another setback. This shows some bias to the US. Unlike the movie, the miners were immediately rushed to nearby hospitals after being rescued, and had to wear sunglasses for several days for them to readjust.
Overall, the movie is a great way to tell the story, with minimal errors. The actors did a great job being real and showing what it was like to be trapped down there. The camera angles needed to be more up close and personal, to really show how how dehydrated and hungry the miners were after the many days they were down there. A more surreal and jaw dropping image of what it's like to go without clean air, water, or food would have made it much better.
Allende en su laberinto (2014)
This Movie Needs Help
"Allende en su Laberinto" was directed by Miguel Littin, known for his 2009 film "Dawson Isla 10." The film was created to show the historical events that unfolded for seven hours inside the Presidential Palace of Chile. It shows how the Chilean Military, backed by the United State's influence, took matters into their own hands and overthrew the democratically elected President Salvador Allende. This movie was created to show the actual events that unfolded that changed Chile's government, show who was involved in the coup, and to remember the one's lost during the attack on September 11, 1973 in Santiago.
It was very obvious that the director was trying to get his point across that the United States was directly responsible for the organization of the coup. Littin made the film to show how President Nixon and the United States government forcefully took out President Allende solely because he was socialist. This was because the Cold War was going on, and the US was trying to cease the spread of Communistic ways. Littin represents the Chilean President and his guards as the protagonists being oppressed and taken out of office by a higher power for no reason. His view is blatantly obvious and biased, and makes the movie bad. Although the film is historically accurate with the time of day, it did not give enough information on each side. It pictured the United States as the antagonists for being responsible for organizing the coup, but did not explain why. It showed the US as bad guys without giving reason, and made the movie too biased. Although there were some documentaries made about the events in Chile in 1973, this is the only major motion picture. It seems Littin accepted the other documentaries because his film is historically accurate. The film tells of the events, but also adds inaccurate bits where Allende connects with his guards mid firefight, and all the gunfire ceases very unrealistic. The history is reasonable and tells it very well, but without facts. Other than the actual history, the film making and acting is atrocious. The transitions are to brunt, the sound of the weapons is way off and the actors are not fully inspired by their roll and show that in their acting. Daniel Munoz tries too hard to be tough and undermines the authority of the President. The director and people who like this movie need to watch some American movies to realize how well made they are and how to improve their own filming.