Mission Possible: Terrific new doc recounts harrowing Thai soccer team rescue
Husband and wife filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi have made two of my all-time favorite films in the past six years: 2015’s Meru and 2018’s Best Documentary Oscar winner Free Solo. They return today with The Rescue, which chronicles the recovery of a Thai boys’ soccer team from a flooded cave back in 2018, an event that transfixed the world. Chin and Vasarhelyi’s new documentary is just as engrossing as the original story, and with this picture the duo continues their streak of producing absolutely must-watch, enthralling films.
For those who don’t recall the story that made international headlines: a group of 12 Thai boys ranging in age from 11-16 and their 25-year-old soccer coach decided to explore one of Thailand’s famous caves, the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in the Chiang Rai Province. When a heavy rain fell while they were in the cave, blocking all exits, they became trapped. They remained in their small, rocky air pocket for 18 days, until all 13 were safely rescued. That all 13 individuals survived and only one diver of the more than 100 involved died in the rescue attempt was nothing short of miraculous. The Rescue beautifully captures that sense of awe, astonishment, and triumph.
Chin and Vasarhelyi unspool the tale like a dramatic thriller – which the real life story truly was. With a countdown of the number of days the team has been trapped flashing on screen periodically–Day 2, Day 12–we anxiously wait to see what will happen as the weather worsens, rescue ideas are considered and discarded, and oxygen in the cave runs low. The filmmakers obtained never before seen footage from some of the rescue divers, so we get a visceral, you-are-there immersive experience as we follow the divers in their dark, underwater quest.
Present day interviews with a host of people involved in the rescue complement the on-the-ground and underwater footage, and you’ll find yourself hanging on every word. Three of the amateur divers who were key to the rescue–especially the Australian doctor Richard Harris and Brits John Volanthen and Richard Stanton–are particularly eloquent and absorbing as they recount their thoughts and emotions during the rescue. How the divers finally ended up extracting the children, after much hand-wringing and brainstorming, is both ingenious and unbelievable. Watching the solution unfold and actually work is one of the film’s biggest thrills.
Besides being a phenomenal action adventure tale similar to the directing pair’s two other films, The Rescue also serves as a meditation on cooperation, perseverance, and the power of the world to unite for a common cause. In an era in which everyone seems to be at each other’s throats, to watch an international team of military personnel and civilians come together to solve a problem for the good of saving a dozen children will restore your faith in humanity, as cliche as that sounds. But Chin and Vasarhelyi’s film escapes cliche and platitudes, and simply presents us with the best of the human spirit, and, by doing so, inspires us to be kinder and stronger ourselves. As one of the rescue volunteers says, “All you need is generosity and a united effort and you will succeed.”
Aside from the courage of the rescuers, the grace and fortitude of the boys is utterly remarkable. Every time we see them in their virtual underwater prison, they are smiling, grateful, and almost preternaturally at ease. Their calm resolve, bravery, and patience are beyond impressive, and you’ve got to hand it to the young coach for keeping his team’s morale up through an unfathomable frightening situation.
In fact, my one quibble with the film is that I would have loved to hear interviews with the boys or the coach after the rescue, but I can understand why that wasn’t done. Perhaps in ten years, Chin and Vasarhelyi can make a follow up film in which we can hear the boys–now young men–reflect on what they went through. No doubt those stories would be equally inspiring, and Chin and Vasarhelyi could add another superb film to their already stellar resume.
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The Rescue opens today at Bay Area theaters.
