Thirteen Lives (Survival)

As the university exams are over, I have a lot of free time. It is the perfect time to spend time watching movies. So, like a movie worm, I started looking for movies to expand my favourite list.

I have always been more interested in watching movies based on true events. But, you will agree with me; reality is sometimes better than fiction. Humanity is decreasing day by day and killing for no reason. Someone is rejoicing at someone's loss for no reason.

But there are also cases where someone is ready to sacrifice his own life to save the life of others. Danger never comes in human life. Sometimes we face many risks in life that we never imagined.

The movie I will talk about today may be familiar to many. Maybe not in the movie's story, but the real story, many people are involved in this incident. This movie is made about a terrible incident in Thailand. You may have already realized that the movie I am going to write about is based on a true story.

We may have seen this incident in a newspaper or on TV. We can understand how terrible truth can be through this film. When I started watching the movie, I felt like I wasn't watching a movie, and the events of that time were happening before my eyes. Reality is sometimes more beautiful than the story. Sometimes it is more terrible than the story. This movie is an example of that.

The time was 2018; the whole world was excited about the World Cup in Russia. And at that time, such a terrible incident happened. At that time, 12 young children from a local football team and their coach got stuck in a tourist cave in Thailand called Tham Luang. To say stuck, they become watertight.

This cave remains open for tourists about eleven kilometres long during the dry season. Although it seems normal, this cave takes on a terrifying appearance during the monsoon season. The accumulated water from the top of the mountain enters the cave, which is completely submerged in water.

Then this cave takes a terrible shape. And then, if someone falls inside the cave, it is impossible to survive. Because the depth of the cave is about 280 feet and the length is 11 kilometres. After football practice, they enter the cave to wander and indulge in a mild adventure.

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The weather outside was fine when they entered, but it began to rain heavily as soon as they entered. Due to heavy rainfall, the entire cave is wholly submerged in water. As a result, 13 people, including the children and the coach, were trapped inside the cave. The entrapment was complicated enough for everyone, including Thailand, because it was not known whether the children were alive or dead for the first ten days after the entrapment.

And their location could not be determined. You must watch the movie to know what happened at that time or if they were able to rescue the 13 people. While watching the movie, the movie-making is so good that you feel like you are watching an actual event before your eyes, not a movie.

The fantastic camera work left me feeling choked up. So many came there for rescue from every corner of the world. So many people have made many sacrifices. Intensely claustrophobic at times, the film depicts a rare human triumph of thousands where they do their best to rescue 12 boys and their coach from a flooded mountain cave maze.

The director portrayed things so beautifully that while watching the movie, I regretted whether I had been there at that time. I didn't fully know the story, so the movie was too enjoyable and thrilling. But I don't think those who already know this story, or have spoilers of this movie, will have any problem enjoying this movie. In this case, the excellent making of the director of this movie, Ron Howard, definitely deserves praise.

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The movie took only two and a half hours from me, but I was never tired or bored. The entire focus of the film was on the rescue workers. The rescue itself is beautifully depicted in this film. Divers were the heroes of this story, which has been beautifully portrayed throughout the film. Hundreds of people worked hard to save the boys.

Many faced significant loss and risk. I was afraid that the film might come down to saving white boys and Thai boys. But the film skirts this issue nicely. So I can say that this movie is full of horror and excitement. Sadly there was no time to see the crisis from their family's perspective.

But this film shows humanity can achieve if they work in peace with each other—a calming and welcome reminder. In addition, I enjoyed reading Carr's interviews with the driving heroes who came worldwide to help.

They said this movie is almost 100% accurate. There was only one thing that wasn't right: in the film, you get to see what happened underwater. But in real cases, when divers enter the water, they see nothing in front of their mouths. So only this is not correct, they said. But everything has to be made visible to the audience so that the audience can watch the movie and understand the story.

I can confidently say that none of you will be disappointed with the movie. This one shows how much people can do for people.

Happy Watching