Deep Dive: The Rescue (2021)
Film Lens
The Rescue is a documentary directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, focusing on the Tham Luang cave rescue that took place in 2018. The film chronicles the mission to save a junior football team trapped in an underwater cave, detailing the efforts of divers and rescuers. It presents a timeline of events leading up to the rescue, showcasing the urgency and complexity of the situation as oxygen levels dwindled and monsoon rains threatened the cave's stability.
The film had its world premiere at the 48th Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2021, and was released theatrically in the United States on October 8, 2021. It faced challenges in securing rights to the story, with National Geographic obtaining rights to the divers' narrative while Netflix acquired the soccer team's experiences. This division influenced the film's perspective, focusing primarily on the rescue operation rather than the children's personal stories.
Why Watch
- •See the intense Tham Luang cave rescue unfold.
- •Meet the divers who risked their lives to save the team.
- •Find out how monsoon rains complicated the rescue efforts.
Did You Know
•The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2021.
•In its opening weekend, the film earned $69,662 from five theaters.
•96% of 91 critics rated the film positively on Rotten Tomatoes.
•The film won the People's Choice Award for Documentaries at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2021.
Perfect For
Cave rescue enthusiastsDocumentary fansSports team stories