Thirteen Lives

In 2018, a Thai soccer team and their coach- 13 people- explored a local cave after practice. An unexpected (and unseasonably early) monsoon rain partially flooded the cave, trapping the group deep (2.5 miles) inside on high ground. There they would remain- in an air pocket with decreasing oxygen for over two weeks- until they would be rescued in an unprecedented operation: they would be sedated and pulled out before the monsoon season completely flooded the cave. Thirteen Lives tells the tale of the rescue.

Before the movie review: what a harrowing story! The team went into the caves on 23 June; they were alone in the caves for 9 days before being discovered on 2 July. They were pulled out between 8-10 July, meaning some were there 18 days. And they all survived, using an unprecented rescue technique (they were sedated because the dive would have made them panic, flail, and likely die.) The boys were aged 11-17; the coach, 25. Over 100,000 people were involved, either supporting the diving itself or overhead on the mountain, doing what they could to divert water and avoid further filling the caves. It took three hours to move one boy out of the cave. Unbelievable. This wikipedia article summarizes the situation, which was the largest rescue in the world (I think).

On to the movie: it did a good job of capturing the overall event, the divers, and harrowing nature of the dives. The focus is on the rescuers; you never see scenes from the boys' perspective, which surprised me. Parts seem too slow; others too fast (or with too little elaboration). For the latter, for example, you don't see much of the other rescue options they explored before resorting to sedation, and they play down the decreasing oxygen levels. It's almost like they deliberately played down the suspense rather than ramping it up as most movies do. Given the subject matter and its inherent tension, perhaps that's for the best. But it did feel strangely 'underdone' in that sense.

Rating: B+