Thirteen lives - Movie 08/2022

[dredger]

Yesterday, and by hasard, i found and decided to watch this new movie named Thirteen lives.
And ... amazing movie !
The fact that it's based on a recent incident (which happened in Thailand in 2018 during the world football) increase the interrest in it.
It's really beautiful, and i agree with a long comment i read about from a french movie critic site (see below) that the film director, Ron Howard, do not overdo, and in fact, it's not necessary, the story speaks for itself. It's very ... human, beautiful, at least for me it brought me nice emotions during all the movie, a movie which looks like a documentary. The movie is +/- 2h30 length.

Here's the trailer, but i would recommend to avoid it and "dive" in the movie :

Here's, in quote mode, a translation of a good critic of the movie (found here in french)

International security

The latest piece of cinema from Ron Howard, a director known as much for his successes (Apollo 13, Rush, An Exceptional Man) as for his bitter failures, is a touching film that continues what the director knows best: to stage a possible dialogue between two different cultures, necessary for the survival of humanity. The story is drawn from real events, since it retranscribes in detail, as did the Thai documentary The Rescue, the rescue operation of thirteen young footballers in a cave in Tham Luang in Thailand. British and Thai divers were mobilised to achieve the impossible, and bring the boys back alive.

The first thing that is important to note is that the director keeps emphasising the importance of the thirteen lives for the Thai people, the British divers and the national official. Taking the time to film nature and the mineral element from the outside, Ron Howard gradually introduces Thai culture into his film, which makes sense as the rescue becomes increasingly difficult. He does not hesitate to confront wide shots with close-up shots of the bodies, magnificently transcribing the smiles and worried looks of a people who are decidedly obstinate and ready to do anything to save their own. At the same time, Thirteen Lives focuses on the perspective of the British divers, under pressure from the media and the people, who have no right to make mistakes. Until the young boys are anaesthetised underwater, which is considered illegal, they take considerable risks, but these are measured against the gravity of the situation.

Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen succeed in their endearing duet, embodying two characters with opposite yet complementary characters. What seems to be a matter of detail for them becomes spectacular for the Thai people, and is well captured in the film. As for the underwater scenes, Ron Howard distances himself from the divers to trace the route of each part of the circuit on a map with precise coordinates. Thus, we see the parts of the route as the film progresses, in several ellipses. This is an interesting process, as the viewer never really knows what to expect when the characters are confronted with it. The tension is built up scene by scene, well supported by the work on the sound, which should be highlighted.

But where the film really surprises is in the almost documentary aspect that we could already find in The Rescue, filming more than anything the solidarity between men and cultures. The music is not used much, but always at the right moments when the emotion overwhelms the characters. Rather than showing the terrible drama of the aftermath of the rescue, i.e. the Thai divers dying of an infection contracted during the rescue, the American director prefers to end it with the relief of the country. And at the same time, the British divers' return to their normal, somewhat tidy lives leaves something to be desired. Can they bring so much to their sons back home? A beautiful ending that does not play on pathos.

Thirteen Lives is a success that we expected more from Ron Howard in this register, which confirms an obvious return of the director. Not everything is completely accomplished if one comes to rethink a few slightly predictable plot points. But can we really reproach him for keeping the classic storyline, when it was real itself? The most important thing is the way the story is told, and on this point the filmmaker films the operation for what it was: a moment of support honouring the courage of all the believers of the international community.

For those who want to learn more about what happened in Thailand during June and July 2018, here the wiki page :

Tham Luang cave rescue - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org