DAVID ADAMS watches ‘Thirteen Lives’…
Thirteen Lives (AU – M/UK – 12A/US – PG-13)
In a Word: Intense
Colin Farrell stars John Volanthen, Joel Edgerton as Harry Harris and Viggo Mortensen as Rick Stanton in Thirteen Loves, directed by Ron Howard, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. PICTURE: Vince Valitutti / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures/© 2022 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved
It was an extraordinary story that gripped the world’s attention – the rescue of the 12 boys and their soccer coach, known as the ‘Wild Boars’ soccer team, from deep inside a series of flooded caves in northern Thailand in July, 2018.
Thirteen Lives tells the story of that rescue, retelling how an international team of expert divers, lead by Brits Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) and John Volanthen (Colin Farrell), joined with the Thai Navy SEALS in a race against time and rising water to bring all 13 of those trapped out of the caves.
“Directed with a skilful hand by Ron Howard, Thirteen Lives provides a claustrophic, on-the-ground (and in-the-cave) view of the rescue effort and the challenges, including wrangles over jurisdictional issues and the challenges of the local environment, that had to be overcome to faciliate a rescue operation against seemingly insurmountable odds.”
Directed with a skilful hand by Ron Howard, Thirteen Lives provides a claustrophic, on-the-ground (and in-the-cave) view of the rescue effort and the challenges, including wrangles over jurisdictional issues and the challenges of the local environment, that had to be overcome to faciliate a rescue operation against seemingly insurmountable odds.
While much of the focus is on the cave divers – who included Australian anaesthetist Harry Harris (Joel Edgerton), we also encounter others who contributed to the rescue effort in less direct ways including the Thai water engineer who spear-headed efforts to divert water from sinkholes which were filling the caves and the villagers who sacrified their rice crops so the water could be diverted. And we’re shown the cost of the rescue, including the death of retired Thai Navy SEAL Saman Kunan (played by Sukollawat “Weir” Kanarot).
The film, released on Prime Video, is well-cast throughout and the action brisk without getting in the way of the facts of the story as they unfolded. The film avoids being overly melodramatic – a common pitfall in such a genre – and the focus is squarely on the action of the rescue: it’s only incidentally that we catch glimpses of the larger lives of those involved.
It’s a long film, at 149 minutes, but remains gripping throughout. A well-made film of a remarkable story, Thirteen Lives is worth taking the time to watch.
