THE 33
A powerful survival drama where faith sustains the trapped.
Should You Watch It?
If you want a gripping survival drama with terrific dialogue, memorable characters, and intense jeopardy, The 33 delivers. It is based on the true story of miners trapped 2,300 feet below the surface, and it makes their danger feel immediate.
The film’s strongest feature is its Christian hope. A miner and a minister help the trapped men pray in the name of Jesus, while families aboveground refuse to give up. The movie also includes difficult elements: an alcoholic miner, a man with a wife and mistress, strong language, and a deep sense of despair.
This is not for children or young teens. Discerning adults who can handle the content should see it; families with younger viewers should choose something else.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESIn 2010, 33 miners descend into an old mine in northern Chile. The mine is 2,300 feet deep, and its foreman warns that it is shifting and unsafe.
Near the bottom, the mountain collapses, trapping the men in a refuge area. Aboveground, their families demand a rescue while officials and engineers debate whether anything can be done. Below, the miners face limited food and water, worsening tensions, and the need to sustain hope.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is an unusually strong film. The 33 is extremely powerful, extremely well plotted, and one of the best survival movies ever made, according to the source review.
The dialogue is terrific. The jeopardy is intense. Although there are many characters, each one is well crafted and distinctly memorable. The film also rises above a merely faith-based treatment by combining its Christian content with a compelling survival story.
The Worldview
The 33 presents an extremely strong, evangelistic Christian worldview. God, prayer, faith, forgiveness, family, and hope are central to the story. A miner and a minister pray in the name of Jesus, help an alcoholic miner turn to Jesus, and sustain the trapped men when their food runs out. The film also depicts a miracle of salvation under impossible circumstances and visions of the Eucharist when the men are starving.
The movie includes a light Roman Catholic context, with a few Catholic icons, statues, and other elements. Still, its primary focus is on God and the miracle He brings. The film also includes an overt salvation story, as one character seeks forgiveness from God and forgives others.
The film’s central danger is not only physical. Its worst element is the lack of hope. Against that despair, The 33 emphasizes prayer, family, perseverance, and faith. “Hope does not put us to shame” (Romans 5:5).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Extremely strong, evangelistic Christian worldview with great prayers and demonstrations of faith, including the miracle of being saved under impossible circumstances and visions of the Eucharist when men are starving, and family is emphasized, a very few Roman Catholic icons and statues; at least 11 obscenities and two profanities; a mountain starts to collapse on miners, miners are hurt and wounded, a fight breaks out between miners, threats of starvation and violence, vague and semi-serious threats of cannibalism in one or two scenes, a woman slaps a government official hard, threats of riots as families wait angrily outside fence; kissing and some sexual references, man commends his wife’s figure, a couple light sexual discussions or references, and a man has a wife at home and a mistress across the street from his home, and other men joke about it; upper male nudity; light alcohol at a party; no smoking or drugs; and, dissension among trapped miners, theft, lying, mob rule, careless and callous mine operator, and careless and callous government officials, but faith triumphs.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
When the miners face hunger, fear, and despair, how can prayer sustain hope? What does biblical hope look like in a crisis?
Romans 5:3–5 · Psalm 42:5The film emphasizes family members who refuse to give up. What does faithful love look like when the outcome is uncertain?
1 Corinthians 13:7 · Galatians 6:9One character seeks forgiveness from God and forgives others. Why do we need both God’s forgiveness and the willingness to forgive?
1 John 1:9 · Ephesians 4:32The miners face dissension, theft, lying, and threats of violence. How should people respond when fear tempts them to abandon truth and love?
Ephesians 4:25 · James 1:19–20The Final Word
The 33 is a powerful, beautifully crafted survival drama with intense jeopardy and an openly Christian heart. Its language, sexual wrongdoing, violence threats, and deep despair make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults, it is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For a younger family, start here instead:
