User reviews

An amazing story of perseverance and triumph, it hit me on a level I didn't expect - after all the ugliness we've seen in the world with Covid, it restored my faith in humanity. Just go see it.

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.

Don't give up.

A documentary about the event in 2017 about a rescue mission where 13 soccer kids and their coach got stuck inside a cave in Thailand.

I think I heard a little bit about this event back then, but I had almost no memory of it coming in to this documentary. And wow, this was the most emotionally powerful and inspiring time that I had at the theater this year.

The documentary aspect was extremely well done. There were minimal side-tracking, and the story got straight to the rescue and spent the entire time focusing on the divers and intense situation. Quite amazing was also reinvention of the scenes in the cave by the divers that participated in the rescue. Added to that were the real footage from the divers inside the cave. Some of them were heartbreaking to watch.

I was on the edge of my seat for the whole rescue mission. I was glad that I didn't remember anything about the event, because I had no idea if the rescue was a success or not. Many times I had expected the worst outcome, which made me even more worried.

The divers who were interviewed were incredible at retelling the story. They told enough information to get audience understand the direness of the situation as well as their emotions throughout the mission. There were some scenes that talked about the divers and their personal lives, but it was told just enough that I got where they came from and not feeling dragged.

Lastly, the theme of not giving up and unification of the people were beautiful. So many times the divers thought it was impossible, but others encouraged them to take risks and not giving up hope on the kids. The amount of people that came from around the globe to participate in helping the kids were inspiring. It gave you more hope on humanity.

Overall, an incredible documentary portraying an incredible event. 9.5/10.

I believe most of the scenes were re-enacted by the same crew that helped in the rescue but that doesn't diminish the greatness of this documentary, on the contrary, they enhanced it. If it weren't for the insistence, tenacity, courage of the British dives, this rescue would not have been successful. The computer-generated images provided us with an idea of how big, long and dangerous this cave is. By also showing the intimate life of these British divers and their reasons and passion for diving, the directors brought more realism, authenticity, humanity to the documentary.

One of the best documentaries of 2021.

The world was captivated in 2018 when a youth soccer team got trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand. This Documentary by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (who won an Oscar for FREE SOLO) follows the rescue mission that was a collaboration of the Thai Naval Seal Team, divers from the U. S. Military, Australia and China (who, for some reason are given particularly short shrift) and other freelance divers from around the world. But, it was a squad of British civilians led by Rick Stanton and John Volanthen who took center stage because of their unique qualifications in such situations.

Vasarhelyi and Chin were somewhat hamstrung in making the Doc for several reasons including the fact that Netflix has locked up the movie rights to the soccer team and their families and couldn't be interviewed (old news footage is used to get some of their side of the story; recreations are also used where no footage is available). The filmmakers made the decision to focus on the rescue personnel - it really should be called "The Rescuers".

Even with these constraints - and the fact that everybody knows how it turns out - THE RESCUE manages to be genuinely suspenseful and moving.

What makes a documentary compelling? Besides the fact that it's true storytelling, the intrigue of the subject matter has a lot to do with whether one is worth a watch. In National Geographic's 'The Rescue,' we're taken back to 2018 to see the full picture of how 13 members of a Thai youth soccer team were dramatically rescued from a flooded cave.

There are a lot of things to like about 'The Rescue.' For one, we get to see how things unfolded in real time over the course of the weeks it took to study the situation, devise a plan that had the best chances of success and weather the elements (literally) in what can only be described as a true miracle. The team of expert cave divers who led the effort give firsthand accounts of every major decision, twist and turn that they were involved in as they raced against the clock, and the adrenaline comes through in their retelling of events.

The thrill factor here rivals that of anything Hollywood churns out, even though it's not as suspenseful given everyone generally knows how the story ends. 'The Rescue' is a documentary that appeals to all ages and people of all different backgrounds. It should not be missed.

Perfect documentary in every sense. All of the details and narrative flowed effortlessly and was all well explained. It was clearly well researched from all sides and care was really taken to make sure all parties were respectfully and faithfully presented. From a technical standpoint it was also incredible. The blend of real footage with reconstruction work, especially in the cave and underwater which are incredibly difficult places to make a film technically, was seemless and fantastic. There was none of the terrible CGI or poor acting or cliche voiceover man that you get in many of the disaster documentary rubbish on TV. But most importantly, the devastating potential of the situation and the incredible courage and bravery and effort that was put forward by so many heroes really shone through - it is a nail biting and also a very emotional watch. The only thing is I am not sure why they didn't give any mention to the second Thai NAVY seal who died in 2019 as a result of a blood infection caught as a result of his brave work on the rescue. My guess is that this happened when production for this documentary was already finished. It is a strange oversight otherwise.

Like most, I've never gone cave diving or anything even close to that sort of thing, but golly this sure felt like the closest I'd get to that feeling of depth, claustrophobia and silence diving in such an environment would bring. Vasarhelyi and Chin do such a great job of bringing the emotions behind these heroic events to the forefront. The weight of life and death put on the shoulders of so many. And the call to action that can bring the most seemingly average person out of their day to day and into a dangerous cave. Excellent film, can't wait to watch it again!

I HAVE NEVER CLAPPED AT THE END OF A MOVIE BEFORE. ESPECIALLY AT HOME BY MYSELF. BUT HERE I WAS. WITH TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE AND QUIETLY CLAPPING AT THE MIRCLE I JUST WITNESSED.

"The Rescue" is about the rescuers and the peculiar mentality of the dedicated cave diver. It also provides an expert, 3D-graphics-enhanced procedural recreation of the whole painstaking, perilous extraction process. The mechanics of the operation boggle the mind, and in presenting them so elegantly. Just amazing that despite all the differences in nationalities, training (Thai Navy Seals) culture and languages, a group of non-professional cave divers succeeded in the rescue of the 12 boys (age 11 to 16) and their football coach. Astonishing story and better than most Christmas movies nowadays. This is an unbelievable story that must been seen! It is better than most of the movies hitting the theatre now.

What a well done documentary!!! It told the story so well with the original footage. Love it that they interviewed all the key persons in this mission so I got to know their point of view. The detailed explanation of the incident really got my full attention. What an amazing ending for such tragedy. All the people helping are truly heroes!

A simply miraculous rescue. The secrets of how it was done are revealed in the movie.

A must see for anyone who believes anything is possible.

This HAS to be made into an adapted screenplay blockbuster for the big screen. I followed this breaking story closely back in 2018 and was absolutely captivated by it at the time. The Rescue sheds so much more light on the incredible store of the Thai cave rescue. It is almost a fairytale - the Myanmar monk who foretold the finale, the torrential monsoon rains that held off until the moment the last child had been rescued, the relationship between the cave diving hero and his love interest who just so happened to hail from the nearby Thai town. Fate. Everyone should watch The Rescue. I can't wait for the Hollywood adaptation.

In 2018, 12 kids who had gone out to play football and their coach were trapped inside a cave system in Northern Thailand. They had little chance of survival as the monsoon season approached.

Their plight captured worldwide attention. Once the rescue was over, media outlets signed up various parties. The school kids, the rescuers etc.

Ron Howard even made a movie Thirteen Lives charting the ordeal of the football team.

Co-directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi made the Oscar winning documentary Free Solo about a solo ascent of Yosemite rock face El Capitan.

Here they concentrate on the volunteer cave divers Rick Stanton and John Volanthen from Britain. What was a strange hobby became a vital skill set. Even the Thai Navy Seals had problems navigating the cave system which was now flooded.

The documentary uses news footage and reconstructions to tell their story. It has talking heads from the Thai authorities, the American armed forces who assisted them. As well as other cave divers from across the world including Dr Richard Harris who was vital to the rescue.

However it was a fascinating take. The Thai authorities initially had little time for these guys but on their initial dive they came across four workers who were trapped. No one knew they were missing at first.

What is missing is contributions from the kids and their families. That is because their rights were sold to other media companies.

This is single-handedly the most thrilling, tear-jerking film we've ever seen. KUDOS to the filmmakers and to all the HEROES of those 12 children.

We saw this film in a completely empty theater (Century XD) in Rancho Mirage and it's a sad commentary on our country. THIS IS THE PERFECT FILM every American needs to see and completely empty seats. Instead all the young teens are watching Halloween, James Bond, Seeds of Chucky, etc.

All the older adults have given up on great films like this.

Truly awe-inspiring, earth-shattering, jaw-dropping documentary and I'm 100% sure it will win the Oscar. Nothing can compare to this. In fact, I will say it's the best Documentary ever made in the past 50 years.

The closest documentary I've watched that comes close is 'The Epic Journey' that you can watch on youtube. But that's faith-based so beware.

From the directors of Academy Award-winning documentary Free Solo comes yet another nail-bitingly intense true life account that transfixed the world back in 2018. The Rescue chronicles the daring mission undertaken to save 13 lives trapped deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand and highlights what the best of humanity can achieve when working towards a cause.

Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin, the film properly informs the viewers what the stakes are, the risks involved & the miracle it would take to pull off the dangerous operation and relies on interviews of people involved, media footage & re-enactments to show the rescue attempt as it was carried out. It's tense, suspenseful & involving despite knowing the end result.

The documentary also sheds light on the high-risk world of cave diving, why some folks are into it and how their expertise made the mission a success. The events unfold with gripping intensity, evoking a sense of dread every now n then but the re-enacted scenes don't have the emotional weight that the interviews did. Also, it feels a bit incomplete as it is missing inputs from few vital sources.

Overall, The Rescue is finely crafted, well-researched & expertly told and makes for a thrilling & captivating documentary about one of the most perilous & miraculous rescues in modern times. While not as nerve-jangling as their finest effort, it still manages to be an edge-of-the-seat ride on few occasions and keeps the audience invested despite the already known outcome. A definite recommend.

You can tell a lot went into the making of this docu, and that's not including all the real footage and international news clips. It was directed well, but it was a little too long for me at almost 2 hours, and the pacing wasn't that great. Some scenes felt rushed, others incomplete. This should've been shorter, or more content added with faster pacing. It had great cinematography, both in and out of the water.

The Rescue is probably one of the very best documentaries of 2021, and tells the very suspenseful story about the rescue efforts in saving a soccer team of teenage boys from an underwater cave in Thailand back in 2018.

Faults here are minimal. I think it drags a tiny bit in a few small spots in the first half, and the lack of footage sometimes leads to instances where you can tell footage is getting reused because they just didn't have any images of an integral event.

But for the most part the set up is very good, and the second half of the documentary is where it really shines, as the rescue plans and the carrying out of those plans are expertly recounted for maximum dramatic effect, and many of the interviewees are genuinely interesting and engaging people in their own right.

Was a big fan of this directing duo's last documentary too, Free Solo. That one might have had the more spectacular footage, but this one tells a more powerful and emotional story. Both are among the best documentaries of the past few years.

Even if you know how the film will end, Jimmy Chin manages to make the film as gripping as possible. His factual report on the rescue of the football team trapped in the Tham Luang cave system in the summer of 2018 is quite annoying thanks to the gripping compilation of re-enacted scenes that were shot during the rescue - a small masterpiece about true heroes.