Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/617280
What particular drilling scene struck you? Plumley: Can I say two? One of my favorites in the movie was when the leader of the miners, Mario, played by Antonio Banderes, hears a drill getting louder and louder, looks up, and sees the bit burst through the rock wall above him. The camera angle takes you right to what he was seeing when the bit breaks the rock, still turning. I also love when Jeff Hart fishes out the broken bit that had caused a delay in the drilling of the rescue shaft. The camera angle shows the broken bit come up to the magnetic fishing tool and Jeff smiles and says, "Let's go rescue some miners." James Brolin nails that scene as Jeff! Beatty: I also want to mention two. First is when the trapped miners first hear the sound of what they hope might be a res- cue drill boring down from above, getting ever closer—but then veers off to the side and below them. I too could feel their rising hope suddenly turn into sinking disappointment. Second is the earlier scene where the miners fully realize they are trapped far below the surface but want to keep their hopes alive that a drilling operation will be able to reach them. Just imagine their thoughts when their crew boss played by Lou Diamond Phillips tells them, "It took 10 years just to drill the mine this deep!" So would you recommend The 33 to filmgoers? Plumley: Well, I don't want us to give a thumbs up or thumbs down because Siskel and Ebert trademarked those years ago. So since we edit articles for WWJ, how about we score the movie on a range of one to five red pens? I'll give The 33 three red pens. There were some melodra- matic scenes I could have done without and it bugged me the movie had the people of Chile speaking English with Spanish accents. I'll never know what people have against subtitles. I'll also add one final time I wish the heroics of the drillers was a bit more developed. Beatty: I'd recommend the movie too and giving The 33 three red pens sounds about right. The story, even though the out- come is known to most, grabs you in showing on the big screen the mine collapse, the frightful situation the 33 miners are facing, and the important role the drilling industry plays in rescuing all the miners. Quickly on your last point, Thad, wouldn't you say at the end the drillers were movie heroes after all? They came to the rescue. Plumley: Oh, I think the drillers are shown as heroes; I just wanted a little more detail and a few more minutes on what they were able to accomplish—which as we both know was truly amazing. At the end of the day, it sounds like we both think the folks of our industry will enjoy a night out if they go see The 33. Beatty: Yep. The movie may not receive any Oscar nomina- tions, but it should receive attention from people in our groundwater industry who can identify with and appreciate the prominent role the drilling industry played in the rescue. Thad Plumley is the editor of WWJ and director of informa- tion products at the National Ground Water Association. He can be reached at tplumley@ngwa.org and on Twitter @WaterWellJournl. Wayne Beatty is the copy editor of WWJ at the National Ground Water Association. He can be reached at wbeatty @ngwa.org. Mike Price is the senior editor of Water Well Journal. In addition to his WWJ responsibilities, Price produces NGWA's newsletter and contributes to the Association's quarterly scientific publication. He can be reached at mprice@ngwa.org. WWJ A Helping Hand A number of companies from the groundwater industry played key roles in rescuing 33 miners who were trapped in a mine for 69 days in 2010 in Copiapo, Chile. Below is a list of the companies Water Well Journal was aware of at press time when it published an article recapping the rescue in its December 2010 issue. • Aries Industries Inc. Fresno, California • Atlas Copco Construction Mining Co. Milwaukee, Wisconsin • Center Rock Inc. Berlin, Pennsylvania • Driller Supply International Houston, Texas • Geotec Boyles Bros. Santiago, Chile • Layne Christensen Co. Mission Woods, Kansas • Mincon Inc. Roanoke, Virginia • Murray & Roberts South Africa • Precision Drilling Corp. Calgary, Alberta, Canada • Schramm Inc. West Chester, Pennsylvania • Tube Technologies Inc. Minneapolis, Minnesota Revisit WWJ's Coverage of Chile Recall Water Well Journal 's coverage in its December 2010 issue of the Chilean miners rescue. The award-winning article "Lending a Hand" by Senior Editor Mike Price details how the water well industry played a vital role and can be found in the NGWA Archives at www.NGWA.org. Search "Lending a Hand" to find the full article that NGWA members can download for free. Twitter @WaterWellJournl WWJ January 2016 29