The 33, a story of faith, strength and survival

A new trailer for the upcoming film "The 33," which stars Antonio Banderas and tells the true story of 33 Chilean miners who were trapped over 2,000 feet underground for 69 days in 2010, provides a glimpse of how the faith of the survivors will be central to their dramatic story.

The drama stars an ensemble cast includes Juliette Binoche, Mario Casas, Lou Diamond Phillips, Rodrigo Santoro, Gabriel Byrne and James Brolin.  

Back in 2010, the world watched as 33 miners in Chile worked to survive a closed off copper–gold mine. Now that incident has been turned into a feature film about resilience and strength

While trapped underground, the miners turned to prayer.

"We can say a prayer together," says one of the trapped miners, while another responds, "I don't know the words." The first miner answers, "God doesn't care."

The miners had only about three days’ worth of food and drink if they rationed it to one another. After their rescue, the group recalled how God had performed various miracles to keep them alive while they were trapped below the surface.

FAITH AND HOPE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRAGEDY

At the National Prayer Breakfast in 2011, Jose Henriquez, one of the miners whom the group described as "the Pastor," shared with the world how God kept them alive during the ordeal.

"We realized we had only one alternative, and that was God himself," recalled the 56-year-old, as reported by CNN.

Henriquez believed that his faith was crucial to help his friends during those hard days: “I am sure that the power of all this came by the Word of God, by believing in Him, that is why I exhort everybody to believe in Him, in his Word”,  Henriquez said in an interview.

“The hero is Jesus Christ, he is the only hero worth to mention. Regardless of what men did inside or outside, He deserves all the honour and the glory”, he added.

At the time of their rescue, Mario Sepulveda, now 45, praised God after being lifted out of the 2,000-foot hole.

"I was with God and I was with the devil. But God won. I held on to God's hand. At no point in time did I doubt that God would get me out of there," Sepulveda told CNN in 2010.

Jimmy Sanchez, now 24, also recognized his faith after being lifted out of the hole that could have claimed his life.

"There are actually 34 of us because God has never left us down here," said Sanchez to Time magazine in 2010.

Those working on the rescue also witnessed divine intervention during the efforts: "It was 75 percent engineering and 25 percent a miracle," said topographer Macarena Valdes to The Wall Street Journal in 2010.
 

SPECIAL RELEASE IN CHILE

Chileans got the first chance Thursday to see Hollywood's movie.The 33 was released in Chile a day after the fifth anniversary of the mine collapse.

"Millions of people, and I include myself, were glued to the TV following this story as these men held to the rocks inside that mine for nearly 70 days with the only dream of getting to see sunlight again," Banderas said last year during a visit to Chile.