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The Rescue

  • 2021
  • PG
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
18K
YOUR RATING
The Rescue (2021)
National Geographic Documentary Films | The Rescue | Now Playing
Play trailer2:22
3 Videos
74 Photos
DocumentaryActionMystery

A chronicle of the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailan... Read allA chronicle of the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.A chronicle of the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.

  • Directors
    • Jimmy Chin
    • Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
  • Stars
    • Bancha Duriyapunt
    • Apakorn Youkongkaew
    • Anan Surawan
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.3/10
    18K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Jimmy Chin
      • Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
    • Stars
      • Bancha Duriyapunt
      • Apakorn Youkongkaew
      • Anan Surawan
    • 113User reviews
    • 60Critic reviews
    • 84Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 16 wins & 38 nominations total

    Videos3

    Get Tickets
    Trailer 2:22
    Watch Get Tickets
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:15
    Watch Official Trailer
    The Rescue
    Trailer 2:15
    Watch The Rescue

    Photos74

    The Rescue (2021)
    Rick Stanton in The Rescue (2021)
    The Rescue (2021)
    Ben Svasti Thomson in The Rescue (2021)
    The Rescue (2021)
    The Rescue (2021)
    The Rescue (2021)
    Derek Anderson in The Rescue (2021)
    The Rescue (2021)
    The Rescue (2021)
    The Rescue (2021)
    The Rescue (2021)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Bancha Duriyapunt
    Bancha Duriyapunt
    • Self - Royal Thai Army
    • (as Lt. Gen. Bancha Duriyapunt)
    Apakorn Youkongkaew
    Apakorn Youkongkaew
    • Self - Royal Thai Navy
    • (as RAdm. Apakorn Youkongkaew)
    • …
    Anan Surawan
    Anan Surawan
    • Self - Royal Thai Navy
    • (as Cast. Anna Surawan)
    Woranan Ratrawiphukkun
    Woranan Ratrawiphukkun
    • Self - Local Volunteer
    • (as 'Tik' Woranan)
    • …
    Vern Unsworth
    Vern Unsworth
    • Self - Financial Consultant…
    Weerasak Kowsurat
    Weerasak Kowsurat
    • Self - Minister of Sports and Tourism
    Rick Stanton
    Rick Stanton
    • Self - Retired Fireman…
    John Volanthen
    John Volanthen
    • Self - IT Consultant…
    Connor Roe
    Connor Roe
    • Self - Cave Diver…
    Richard Harris
    Richard Harris
    • Self - Cave Diver…
    Siriporn Bangnoen
    Siriporn Bangnoen
    • Self - Nurse
    • (as Amp Bangnoen)
    Ruengrit Changkwanyuen
    Ruengrit Changkwanyuen
    • Self - Dive Specialist…
    Suratin Chaichoomphu
    Suratin Chaichoomphu
    • Self - Thai Groundwater Association
    • (as Surathin Chaichoomphu)
    Ben Svasti Thomson
    Ben Svasti Thomson
    • Self - Honorary British Consul
    Saman Gunan
    Saman Gunan
    • Self - Retired Thai Navy SEAL
    • (as P.O. Saman Gunan)
    Waleeporn Gunan
    Waleeporn Gunan
    • Self - Saman's Wife
    Derek Anderson
    Derek Anderson
    • Self - US Air Force Pararescue
    • (as MSgt. Derek Anderson)
    Josh Bratchley
    Josh Bratchley
    • Self - Meteorologist…
    • Directors
      • Jimmy Chin
      • Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Some scenes were reenacted by the actual participants.
    • Connections
      Alternate-language version of Thirteen Lives (2022)
    • Soundtracks
      Believe
      Written by Aloe Blacc, Gary Baker and Daniel Pemberton

      Performed by Aloe Blacc

    User reviews113

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Deeply Moving Experience
    Successfully following up on an Oscar-winning documentary is not an easy task, but directors E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin ("Free Solo") more than accomplish that with The Rescue, the tension-filled story of the rescue of 12 young soccer players, ages 10-16, and their coach trapped in the Tham Luang Nag Non cave in Northern Thailand in 2018. Though it was a retreat the boys have often used in the past, after heavy premature monsoon rains, they found themselves surrounded by water two miles from the cave entrance, facing long odds for survival. To capture the drama, the filmmakers relied on 87 hours of footage filmed by a Thai admiral's wife, interviews with the rescue team, computer graphics, and the use of reenactments when it became too dangerous to film inside the cave.

    Trained cave divers were recruited as well as Thai Navy Seals, U. S. Special Forces, Australian medical experts, a Thai nurse named "Amp" Bangngoen who helped as a translator, and thousands of volunteers to undertake the rescue in the cave's claustrophobic, winding underground passageways. The challenge became even more real when divers discovered four pump workers trapped not far from the cave entrance and had to undertake a dangerous rescue that became a trial run for the later attempt to free the boys. With the cave rapidly filling with water, the conditions became so daunting that one volunteer - a former Thai Navy Seal, died from a lack of oxygen.

    When members of the Seals concluded that they did not have the diving skill required for the rescue attempt, Rick Stanton and John Volanthen, two highly experienced British divers were called to Thailand. The inspiration of people of many backgrounds and training coming together from all over the world - including the U. S. and China - to engage in a joint undertaking captured the world's attention. Paraphrasing the late poet George Eliot, "What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life, to strengthen each other, to be at one with each other in silent, unspeakable memories?"

    The documentary not only depicts the bravery and determination of the divers, but offers a look into their personalities and goals, each with a compelling story. In one interview, one of the divers says that his dangerous hobby is "two parts ego, one part curiosity and one part a need to prove yourself." The divers talk about how they had been "outsiders" all of their lives, always regarded as misfits and "nerds." Fittingly, it was Stanton and Volanthen who first discovered the lost boys and their coach on a ledge two miles into the cave, where they had taken refuge after heavy rain submerged the route they had followed.

    Finding the boys was only the beginning of the ordeal, however. How to get them out seemed an impossible task given the monsoon threat and the rapidly filling cave. Though thousands of gallons of water were drained from the cave, it was only after a daring proposal to bring the boys out (rejected as "insane" by Australian Doctor Richard Harris) was finally approved that a way forward could be seen. The result is a deeply moving experience that should be seen on the big screen to experience its full impact. Even a cliché-ridden closing song, dreamed up by well-meaning Oscar-baiters, cannot ruin the experience that is The Rescue.
    helpful•15
    1
    • howard.schumann
    • Feb 21, 2022

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 8, 2021 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • Thai
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Untitled Thai Cave Rescue Project
    • Filming locations
      • Thailand(on location)
    • Production companies
      • National Geographic Documentary Films
      • Ventureland
      • Storyteller Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,060,556
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $65,591
      • Oct 10, 2021
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,060,556
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 47 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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