Pike River Review – Families fight for justice in a true-to-life story of a New Zealand mining disaster | film

IIt seems unlikely that the wheels of justice would ever have moved after the Pike River mine disaster in New Zealand, which claimed the lives of 29 men in 2010, had it not been for the actions of the grieving families. This sobering, realistic drama is a detailed account of their years-long struggle for justice. The story is told with restraint, with precise detail — and perhaps too much detail — without any Erin Brockovich-type sentimentality, and never losing sight of the heartbreak and devastation.

The film opens with haunting scenes before the accident: the miners prepare to go underground, gently fighting each other – a familiar morning routine – with no idea what will happen, although the stunning vista of forests and mountains looms menacingly in cinematographer Gene Luan’s cinematography. In the hours following the first mine explosion, the company’s CEO, Jonathan Hendry, confidently states that there is enough air underground to last several days. “But we’ll get them back before then.” The lies told to the families were astonishing.

The film focuses on the friendship that develops between Anna Osborne (Melanie Lynskey) and Sonia Rockhouse (Robin Malcolm) during the weeks and months as they sit before royal commissions and public inquests, clutching photographs of their dead. Among the victims were Anna’s husband and Sonia’s 21-year-old son; One of their goals is simply to recover bodies from the mine.

Sometimes, he feels hopeless. But victories eventually come, sometimes from unexpected quarters, such as a family-run concrete company that refuses to supply concrete to fill the mine shaft. There is a surprise waiting for us at the end of the movie. I watched the final scenes thinking the filmmakers had done a serious job of finding someone to play a certain star New Zealand politician – but it turns out she did the job herself.