Thirteen Lives is a film directed by Ron Howard, which tells the tale of the soccer team in Thailand which ended up trapped in a deep cave after an unexpected monsoon. William Nicholson wrote the screenplay with Don Macpherson helping out with the story conception. Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, and a whole bunch of Thai actors recreate the chaos and courage exhibited during the crisis which occurred in 2018.
Twelve members of the soccer, or the football team, and their coach are trapped in this cave, and a whole slew of rescuers and volunteers converged to lend a hand. It took about three weeks to find them and then extricate everyone from the depths of this thing. The rescue effort is spearheaded by a couple of British cave divers, but the film does a great job of showing the unity of the thousands of volunteers and personnel as they struggle to overcome the challenges presented by the unpredictable weather and the deep waters within the cave system.
The performances were compelling, and Ron Howard was apparently quite meticulous in replicating the circumstances of this miraculous rescue. The Thai actors did a great job in portraying the rollercoaster of emotions as this saga unfolded.
The film is a little longer than most, but Howard makes good use of the length. This has been one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. I am not sure how this one could be improved, which is an unusual perspective from me. There are probably some details that could have been explained better, but the experience is gripping. The cast was great. The sets were well constructed. The dialogue felt genuine. I am sure there were some artistic liberties taken but probably not that many.
This film is definitely worth the time and see if you can resist the urge to pull up the interviews of the real people involved in this calamity.
Reviews, Musings, and Other Things... 