Sometimes you think you know the full story when it turns out you really don’t know the half of it. Oscar-winning filmmakers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s (“Free Solo”, “Meru”) riveting new documentary “The Rescue” chronicles the heroic international effort in the summer of 2018 to save twelve boys and their soccer coach trapped deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.
At the time, the Thai cave rescue story was a world-wide media sensation. But very little was known about what actually went on inside the cave, how the rescue was carried out, and the complex interpersonal dynamics between the various key players. Equal parts suspense thriller and character study, the film also manages to be a thoughtful cultural exploration. In total, “The Rescue” is a tour-de-force of non-fiction filmmaking.
After drying their eyes, Mike and Ken were eager to talk to Chai and Jimmy about the immense challenges they faced in telling this miraculous story. How did they transition from documenting the high-risk pursuits of elite mountain climbers to portraying the equally treacherous and hidden world of cave diving? What did they make of the quirky cave divers themselves? How did one last ditch effort to get their hands on some crucial footage pay off? And, finally, what does ground up broccoli have to do with any of this? You’ll have to tune in to this “Top Docs'' episode to find out. “The Rescue” is available now for streaming on Disney+
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