Pike River Movie Review-Available Now on Digital

I went into this film, not knowing of the tragedy that took place in New Zealand, where the Pike River mine had, not one but two explosions, where 29 men lost their lives. I have seen other films on different parts of the world where similar tragedies have taken place. Quite often, the story of getting the people trapped is recovered.

In Pike River, we get a different part of what happened. We're with the families, who have loved ones in the mine, at first they're told that all the men are dead and recovery is difficult, plus the men's bodies were burnt in the explosions, there won't be anything to retrieve.

There's understandable grief, along with anger and questions as to what went wrong; to those in charge of the safety of the mine. If it was in fact safe, why are all these men dead? This film handles so many different emotions that one could expect from a film such as this.

Melanie Lynskey(left) as Anna Osborne, & Robyn Malcolm(right) as Sonya Rockhouse

Instead of trying to navigate through 29 families and each story, the film focuses on 2 families, and they are the main reason for the story. We never go into the mine at any time in the film; instead, we are with the families because there was no one going into the mine to try to retrieve anyone, as it was found unsafe to do so.

The real strength in the film is the supportive friendship between Anna & Sonya, they provide comfort and resilience that they both had almost forgotten they had if it wasn't for each other. "I would’ve given up a long time ago if it hadn’t been for you." 

Support is what anyone would need in a time like this, and they end up getting support for a protest when they find out that the company has called a cement company to pour concrete over the entrance and "put the final nail in the coffin."

With great relief, they receive a callback, and the cement company that was going to do the job is a family company, and they assured them that they are not going to come after all.

At the end of the film, this group of men is shown walking out of the mine.

The film fades to black, and words come up that the film is dedicated to the 29 men who lost their lives.