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The Rescue
Directed by
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Produced by John Battsek, Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Bob Eisenhardt, and P.J. van Sandwijk
Produced by John Battsek, Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Bob Eisenhardt, and P.J. van Sandwijk
With:
Bancha Duriyapunt, Apakorn Youkongkaew, Anan Surawan, Woranan Ratrawiphukkun, Vern Unsworth, Weerasak Kowsurat, Rick Stanton, John Volanthen, Connor Roe, Richard Harris, Siriporn Bangnoen, Ruengrit Changkwanyuen, Suratin Chaichoomphu, Ben Svasti Thomson, Saman Gunan, Waleeporn Gunan, and Derek Anderson
Cinematography:
David Katznelson, Ian Seabrook, and Picha Srisansanee
Editing: Bob Eisenhardt
Music: Daniel Pemberton
Editing: Bob Eisenhardt
Music: Daniel Pemberton
Runtime:
107 min
Release Date: 08 October 2021
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Color: Color
Release Date: 08 October 2021
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Color: Color
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (Documentary Feature Oscar winners for Free Solo) recount the true story of the global effort to rescue a Thai soccer team of twelve young boys and their coach who became trapped in a cave during an unexpected rainstorm. When Thai navy seals determine the rescue impossible, a volunteer team of the world's most skilled recreational divers step up to apply their specialized abilities to navigate the miles-long maze of cramped, flooded cave tunnels. The nail-biting event that captured the world's attention in 2018 is recalled by those who oversaw and performed the against-all-odds rescue, which required unprecedented, highly risky tactics that, miraculously, worked. In the end, more than 10,000 volunteers worked together to pull off a harrowing rescue.
The movie is riveting but feels compromised by a few factors. The main issue is that the most dynamic aspects of this story occurred in cramped, unlit, underwater tunnels and chambers that were inaccessible to all but the most skilled of divers. Thus, reenactments were required to illustrate the scenes described by the people involved. The filmmakers take great care to stage this footage with the actual participants, in the real locations, but it still takes the viewer out of the movie every time it cuts to a shot that would have been impossible to photograph as it occurred. We also don't get much of a sense of what it was like from the perspective of the trapped boys or their families. I suspect this is because a competing documentary has purchased their stories and life rights, and not because the filmmakers are only interested in telling the story of heroic individualistic white dudes. Regardless, we feel the lack of perspective, which is enhanced by how much time is spent on the personal lives and backstories of some of the divers. But there's no question the film succeeds in delivering an engaging chronicle of this international event, one of the few times a prolonged rescue attempt like this ended so happily.
The movie is riveting but feels compromised by a few factors. The main issue is that the most dynamic aspects of this story occurred in cramped, unlit, underwater tunnels and chambers that were inaccessible to all but the most skilled of divers. Thus, reenactments were required to illustrate the scenes described by the people involved. The filmmakers take great care to stage this footage with the actual participants, in the real locations, but it still takes the viewer out of the movie every time it cuts to a shot that would have been impossible to photograph as it occurred. We also don't get much of a sense of what it was like from the perspective of the trapped boys or their families. I suspect this is because a competing documentary has purchased their stories and life rights, and not because the filmmakers are only interested in telling the story of heroic individualistic white dudes. Regardless, we feel the lack of perspective, which is enhanced by how much time is spent on the personal lives and backstories of some of the divers. But there's no question the film succeeds in delivering an engaging chronicle of this international event, one of the few times a prolonged rescue attempt like this ended so happily.