I remember watching the development of this story on TV news and marveled at the brave endurance of the miners trapped underground at 2,300 feet. Previous geological instability at this old mine and a long record of safety violations for the mine's owners had resulted in a series of fines and accidents, including eight deaths, during the 12 years leading up to the accident. Seventeen days after the accident, on August 22, a note written in bold red letters appeared taped to a drill bit when it was pulled to the surface after the rescue operation penetrated an area believed to be accessible to the trapped workers. The note read, "We are well in the shelter, the 33 of us." Once the rescuers and the rest of the world knew that the men were alive, Chile implemented a comprehensive plan to both care for the workers during their entrapment and to rescue the miners from the depths.
The 33 miners were not all friendly comrades to begin with. They were different people with different backgrounds, old and young, natives and foreigner (one of them was Bolivian). One of the miners had a wife and a long-term mistress at the same time and another suffered from bipolar disorder and was estranged from his older sister. Given the fact that the Chilean government had no choice but to be heavily involved in the rescue under the world's scrutiny, politics also stood in the way.
Because it's Hollywood, some parts of the story were a bit sensationalized even though, in general, it stayed quite true to the event. What was most touching was the evolution of the trapped miners from the initial 'looking out for oneself' survivors to the collaborative and self-sacrificing team players towards the end of the saga.
What made this movie outstanding was its stellar cast. Antonio Banderas subdued his sex appeal and played the leader of the group, nicknamed Super Mario, Mario Sepulveda. A very bronzed Juliette Binoche played Maria Segovia, the estranged sister of the miner suffering from bipolar disorder, and the feisty relative who was constantly on the case of Chile's Mining Minister. The latter was skilfully played by the handsome and famous Brazilian actor, Rodrigo Santoro, Gabriel Byrne and James Brolin also played impressive supporting roles.
There's no need for me to give a spoiler alert, because everybody recalls that all 33 miners were eventually rescued. In reality, private donations covered one-third of the US$20 million cost of the rescue, with the rest coming from the mine owners and the government although these details were not dwelt on in the film itself.
The movie ended with a shot of the real 33 surviving miners who, to this day, remain loyal friends to one another. However, what the film didn't say, is that most of the miners still struggle with the psychological scars of their entrapment and have had trouble holding down a job. After the initial talk shows, speaking engagements and free trips, interest in the miners began to fade and today, many of the miners have trouble making ends meet. Super Mario told The Daily Mail last year that he and his fellow miners suffer from nightmares and depression, brought on by the psychological trauma of being trapped for so long. Most of the miners are still taking antidepressants and other medications and will probably do so for the rest of their lives. Mario says he now worries constantly about money. He was offered a job recently in a mine again and he needed to go back underground to support his family. The miners felt abandoned again once they came up from underground and it's sad to hear from Mario saying that, "some days I think it would have been better if they had let us down there."
No comments:
Post a Comment