The 33 is based on the highly publicized true story of thirty-three Chilean miners who, for over two months in 2010, were trapped over 2,000 feet below the Atacama Desert when there was a major collapse in their labyrinthine, century-old cavern of copper and gold, the San Jose Mine. Despite overwhelming odds, all of the miners make it to the place called, "The Refuge", where food, medicine, and am intercom to the surface are supposed to exist. However, their company has done a poor job, cutting corners on safety measures, leaving them with few rations and no functioning communications equipment, and with 100-degree temperatures, their lack of adequate air, water, and sustenance begins to weigh heavier on the men than the mountainous boulder that's trapping them down. There's no way back to the sole entrance, and no way to communicate to the outside world if they're even alive, all they can do is wait and hope that the people who are outside decide to mount a rescue, and that they never give up faith.