The Rescue

The rescue of twelve boys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand is given the big-screen treatment from the directors of Free Solo.

This is a documentary by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi who in 2018 gave us the very successful Free Solo. Rather unexpectedly The Rescue comes across as a companion piece despite the fact that, as indicated by its title, this new work is built around one specific event. That event is the remarkable attempt undertaken in June and July 2018 to save the lives of twelve youths, members of a football team, and that of their coach after they had found themselves trapped inside a cave in Northern Thailand. Central though that rescue bid is, this film portrays it from the viewpoint of those who worked to get them out and, while it pays tribute to the efforts of the Royal Thai Navy SEALs who took part and to American and other nationals who became involved, its prime focus is on the Brits who participated. Indeed, the place taken in this film by two such men, John Volanthen and Rick Stanton, who have both chosen the hazardous life of a cave diver, becomes a key focus here much in the way that the character and personality of the mountaineer Alex Honnold did in Free Solo.

The rescue attempt took all of eighteen days due to the cave in question being so remarkably lengthy (those trapped were eventually located over two miles from the entrance) and to the fact that the incident arose at a time of year when flooding was occurring within the system and getting progressively worse. Indeed, given that the monsoon causing it might not let up for months, it made the rescue bid even more a race against time and one that might easily be lost. In following this desperate endeavour and doing so almost on a day by day basis the film explains the difficulties clearly and gives us detailed coverage of the steps that were involved including considerable footage showing what happened inside the cave.

The decision to concentrate on the rescuers was to some extent imposed on the filmmakers since I understand that Netflix acquired film rights linked to telling the story from the point of view of the boys and their coach. However, this film’s approach in no way excludes full and due recognition of what those who were trapped went through and we witness their extraordinary resilience and composure. Meantime, while bringing in contributions from others such as the American Derek Anderson and the Australian Dr. Richard Harris (the latter sought out by Rick Stanton to give crucial advice), it is the emphasis placed on Stanton and Volanthen that establishes the film’s tone. They are modest men capable of self-criticism who explain what drew them to cave diving and, when it comes to discussing their part as volunteers in this rescue, there is a very British sense of understatement on their part. It is matched by the filmmakers adopting a style which sidesteps any dramatic flourishes.

The film is no less subtle in capturing the outlook of the Thai people present and the extent to which their religious beliefs coloured their attitude. But what I welcome most is the way in which the British tone of the leading participants has led to a refusal to build up events through dramatic music and the like. Admittedly The Rescue is on the long side at 107 minutes, but there’s always enough relevant detail for that to be justified. The film’s quiet tone proves to be an effective way of paying tribute to the heroism of the rescuers.

MANSEL STIMPSON

With: Rick Stanton, John Volanthen, Richard Harris, Fiona Harris, Connor Roe, Derek Anderson, Craig Challen, Chris Jewell, Josh Bratchley, Mitch Torrel, Ruengrit Changkwanyuen, Thanet Natisri, Jim Warny.

Dir Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Pro Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, John Battsek, Bob Eisenhardt and P.J. van Sandwijk, Ph David Katznelson, Ian Seabrook and Picha Srisansanee, Art Dir Beverly Freeman and Prawut Ukrai, Ed Bob Eisenhardt, Music Daniel Pemberton, Costumes Sophia Aiudi.

National Geographic Documentary films/Ventureland/Storyteller Productions-Dogwoof Pictures.
107 mins. UK/USA. 2021. Rel: 29 October 2021. Cert. PG.