Audiences will likely remember the real-life events surrounding the collapse of the gold and copper mine in Chile that trapped 33 miners underground for 69 horrific days. It is curious that The 33, Patricia Riggen’s feature-film adaptation of the story, reached the big screen rather than heading straight for television, as most ripped-from-the-headlines dramas tend to do. But the project, based on Héctor Tobar’s book Deep Down Dark, was able to attract an international cast — Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, Lou Diamond Phillips and James Brolin — while also capitalizing on the ability to use the already familiar cable news footage to remind audiences of the event. The question remains whether or not this heightened awareness will generate seismic box office results. (Opens wide Friday) (PG-13) Not screened in time for review
This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2015.