As I continue to revisit the films of 2021 that the Academy overlooked in its nomination process, I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t shine the spotlight on this one. The Rescue is a harrowing true story of ingenuity, bravery, and everyday heroism in the face of nearly impossible circumstances.
When a boys’ soccer team and their coach are stranded deep in a flooded cave system after a monsoon in Northern Thailand, the government brings in the Army and the Navy to work the rescue but cave diving is a very particular style of diving that requires techniques, skills, and customized equipment that only comes from experience.
Rick Stanton is a retired fireman and recreational cave diver but he volunteered to try to help with the rescue. He’s part of a very small community of divers and when it became clear that they were the only ones with the experience and skill needed for this particular situation, Stanton began to assemble his team. Vern Unsworth is a financial consultant, John Volanthen is an IT consultant, Josh Bratchley is a meteorologist, Connor Roe is a Lance Corporal, Richard Harris is an anesthetist, and Ruengrit Changkwanyuen is a launch manager for General Motors. Those men, who were hobby divers, were the only real chance at rescuing the boys and their coach and took a massive amount of pressure on their shoulders as the world watched.
Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Vasarhelyi (Free Solo) were back at it as part of National Geographic’s filmmaking branch. Combining archival footage from the news and filmed on-site, with new interviews and reenactments using the real people involved, the documentary recreates the experience as best as possible for the viewer. Keep in mind, when this was going on in 2018, it wasn’t being filmed for the purposes of a documentary so the reenactments function as a bridge to help guide the audience through the sequence of events. It’s actually pretty impressive to see how much was recreated and the techniques they used to pull that off.
There’s an impending sense of dread that permeates the film and even you are vaguely familiar with the news story, the storytelling, the pacing, and the claustrophobic nature of the setting make for a very tense atmosphere. If you don’t know the outcome, I won’t spoil anything for you but just prepare yourself.
I didn’t see all of the documentaries that made it to the Oscar nomination stage, but it’s tough to believe this one didn’t make the cut. It took home the Critics’ Choice Awards for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Score and has at least been nominated for best documentary across a number of festivals.
Recommendation: If you are familiar with the story, even if you know the outcome, this one is worth watching to see the planning and execution part of the plan.