’13 lives’: what is Ron Howard’s film about the miracles of the Tham Luang cave worth?

Revealed at the age of ten by the series “Happy Days” (“The Happy Days”) where he played Richie, Ron Howard, now 68 years old, and one of the most gifted filmmakers in the world… and for a long time. And in his work, there are a few films based on real events, such as “Apollo 13” (1995), which returns to the problematic space mission of the same name, “An exceptional man” (2001), which traces the journey of the brilliant mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr, “From shadow to light” (2005), on that of boxer Jim Braddock (played by Russell Crowe), “Frost/Nixon” in 2008 and “Rush” (2013), on the rivalry between James Hunt and Nikki Lauda on the Formula 1 circuits. He also made a documentary on Luciano Pavarotti.

From this Friday, August 5, Prime Video is showing its latest production, “Thirteen Lives”, which looks back on the dramatic adventure, during the summer of 2018, of twelve young Thais, members of a football team. , and their trainer. On a beautiful sunny afternoon, they entered the labyrinthine Tham Luang cave, located in the north of their country, and remained stuck there for eighteen days after torrential rains flooded the place, preventing them from turning back.

To get them out of there, not tens but thousands of people arrived on the scene, and among them two English specialists in this type of rescue, Rick Stanton and John Volanthen. At the instigation of his wife Sheryl, who was particularly shaken by this story, Ron Howard wanted to make a film of it, even if an excellent documentary, “The Rescue” (“The Grotto”), has already told it in detail. last year, with the testimony of those who experienced it. “In my eyes, there are a lot of things to see around these facts…”, he told us. “They have, first of all, all of a suspense film which attracts the greatest number. But I also wanted to show the emotional and human sides of what happened, the involvement of the Thai authorities, which were remarkably efficient, the spirituality of the parents, the work of the national Navy Seals, and the commitment great number of hundreds of volunteers, including this doctor who swore he wouldn’t leave until all the kids had returned to the mainland safe and sound. This film is the extreme version of my favorite genre of cinema. It shows that positive outcomes don’t just happen in fiction, that miracles happen when men give their all and more! »

He adds that as a filmmaker, he also benefited from the incredible generosity of hearts of the Thai people (but the film was also shot in Australia), who also helped him on the set. Which, as we imagine, made him take up new challenges on the technical level. To be as authentic as possible, he filmed his most crucial scenes in a real cave, and with two stars, Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen, completely inexperienced in diving. Fortunately, they were assisted during this other adventure by the pros they embody, the providentials Volanthen and Stanton. The miracle happened thanks to them, but also thanks to the anesthetist Richard Harris, who “put the kids to sleep” in order to transport them more easily outside this damn cave. He is portrayed on screen by Joel Edgerton.

Ron Howard certainly dramatized these events, but certainly not to the extreme. He didn’t use those special effects without which today’s action films would be in the lurch. He wanted to be as close as possible to reality, and is certainly so in this reconstruction where he was joined by PJ van Sandwijk, one of the producers of the documentary “The Rescue”. This explains that. But the concern is that in the end, it’s a little behind between two chairs, namely documentary and fictionalization. As a result, we say to ourselves that only those who have not seen “The Rescue” (there are still some left!) will vibrate for this “Thirteen Lives”, which often makes people tremble and fear, of course, but, too factual, sometimes makes you sink into boredom. Especially since it lasts nearly two and a half hours. But of course, its intrinsic message about the strength of men when they unite is worth its weight in gold, especially now.

Find in the issue of “Ciné Télé Revue” released this August 4 the complete interviews of Ron Howard, Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen.

’13 lives’: what is Ron Howard’s film about the miracles of the Tham Luang cave worth?