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Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, Paul Gleeson, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Teeradon Supapunpinyo, Thira Chutikul, Pattrakorn Tungsupakul, Lewis Fitz-Gerald
OUR RATING: ★★★½
Story:
Amazon Prime bio-drama directed by Ron Howard. Based on a true story, Thirteen Lives (2022) follows a rescue mission that is assembled in Thailand where twelve boys and the coach of a Thai soccer team are trapped in a system of underground caves that are flooding. Entombed behind a maze of flooded cave tunnels, they face impossible odds. A team of world-class divers navigate through miles of dangerous cave networks to discover that finding the boys is only the beginning.
Our Favorite Quotes:
'I know that you all did this for one reason. The love for the boys.' - Governor Narongsak (Thirteen Lives) Click To Tweet
Best Quotes
Vern Unsworth: [after the boys have gone missing in the cave] I’ve mapped it. All of it. Now, I haven’t been in when it’s flooded. It’s a whole another game. You have to be a bit nuts. But, look, there’s some pretty tight corners in there. A real squeeze. But there are some big chambers too.
Governor Narongsak: [in Thai] It’s a deep cave, several kilometers long, with some narrow passages. If the boys have gone a long way in, it could take several more hours. But I have every confidence in the Navy SEALs.
Governor Narongsak: [in Thai] So far the divers have been unable to get through as the water is so high. The flooded sections are very narrow and difficult to navigate. The current is very strong.
General Anupong: [in Thai] You haven’t found the boys? And you don’t know where they are? Or even if they’re alive?
Thanet Natisri: [in Thai] There’s no time to wait for help from the officials. The rain water is flooding into the cave. It’s coming from above, not below. We have to stop it getting in.
John Volanthen: [over phone] Hey, Rick, you following what’s happening in Thailand? Some kids stuck in a cave.
Rick Stanton: Yeah. No, not really. Why? How did they get themselves in there?
John Volanthen: I don’t know. Doesn’t say.
Rick Stanton: Well, if they walked in, they can walk out.
John Volanthen: The Thai government’s been given a list of rescue divers. We’re on the list.
Rick Stanton: [over phone] It’s just a tourist cave.
John Volanthen: It looks easy, but Vern said when it’s flooded, it’s impossible.
Rick Stanton: Impossible for Vern.
John Volanthen: [over phone] Rick, look, if you don’t want to do it, I’ll just call Jason.
Rick Stanton: Just call Jason if you’d rather go with Jason.
John Volanthen: I didn’t say I’d rather go with Jason. I would rather go with you.
John Volanthen: [over phone] Maybe start packing if you think you’re coming.
Rick Stanton: I don’t even like kids.
'It takes a certain kind of mindset for the deep cave diving.' Rick Stanton (Thirteen Lives) Click To Tweet
John Volanthen: [referring to the cookies] Did you take two custard creams?
Rick Stanton: No.
John Volanthen: Yes, you did. You took two at once. You’re like a child.
Rick Stanton: I’m like a child?
John Volanthen: Seriously, I mean, I don’t care about the custard creams. But it’s like I tell my son, I care about trust. And I’m disappointed, Rick. But that’s okay, that’s okay.
Commander Kiet: [in Thai, referring to John and Rick] Sir, look at them. They’re amateurs. They’ll never survive the currents in the cave.
Vern Unsworth: No, no, no. They’ve done cave rescues all over the world.
John Volanthen: Our names must be on some list somewhere.
Vern Unsworth: Look, lads, it’s just that they don’t want foreigners dying in the cave. It’s not a good look.
John Volanthen: We won’t die. I have zero interest in dying. How about you, John?
Rick Stanton: Yeah, same.
Rick Stanton: [after they’ve dived into the cave] That was exciting. Not in a good way.
John Volanthen: [after they’ve been ordered not to dive in the cave] What was all that about?
Vern Unsworth: Well, in theory, the governor’s in charge, but Captain Arnont’s the Navy chief on the ground, and he doesn’t take orders from civilians. Plus, the rumor is, the governor’s been sacked. This was supposed to have been his last week here, and now he’s been ordered to stay on. Just in case they need a fall guy.
Vern Unsworth: That’s a shrine to Princess Nang Non, the Sleeping Princess.
Police Captain Bas: This is her mountain. Nang Non mountain.
Vern Unsworth: They say when you see it from a distance, it looks like a sleeping princess.
Police Captain Bas: They say that her tears trapped the boys. The Sleeping Princess is angry.
Rick Stanton: Angry? What’s she angry about?
Police Captain Bas: I don’t know. It’s just what the local people say.
Somboon: [in Thai, to Arnont] Sir, my boy is in the cave, and now it’s flooding. I don’t know if my son is alive or dead. All I ask from you, sir, is to bring me his body.
Governor Narongsak: With the high water level, and the low visibility, and the difficulty of the cave itself, our divers were not able to reach them. So, now, the question is, when do we go back in? And who is going in?
John Volanthen: Yeah. No offense, but you’re trained to dive in open water, not confined spaces. Rick and I have been diving in caves just like this for thirty years now.
Rick Stanton: It takes a certain kind of mindset for the deep cave diving. Breathing techniques, special ways of moving. It’s just different.
'Fear is created in our minds.' - Coach (Thirteen Lives) Click To Tweet
John Volanthen: [referring to the boys] Suppose they’re alive in there. What’s it like for them?
Rick Stanton: Why say that?
John Volanthen: I was just wondering.
Rick Stanton: [as they find the boys in the cave] They’re here.
John Volanthen: How many?
John Volanthen: How many of you?
Arm: Thirteen.
John Volanthen: Thirteen?
Rick Stanton: They’re all alive.
John Volanthen: Thirteen?
Arm: Yes.
John Volanthen: Brilliant!
Arm: Can we go out now?
John Volanthen: No, not today. No, there are just two of us. We must dive. But many people are coming. It’s okay. We are the first. But many will come. Many more.
John Volanthen: [to the boys] You’ve been here ten days. Ten days! You are very strong. Very strong.
'We do nothing, we'll be bringing them out dead for sure. But if they die while we're bringing them out, at least we will have tried.' - Rick Stanton (Thirteen Lives) Click To Tweet
John Volanthen: [to the boys] We’ll come tomorrow with food, and doctors, and everything.
Rick Stanton: Don’t, John. You don’t know that.
John Volanthen: You are very brave. How have you stayed so strong?
Arm: We are team, and we help each other. And our coach help us.
Arm: It is because of our coach we stay strong. He teach us to meditate. And we pray.
John Volanthen: You pray?
Arm: Yes. Yes.
John Volanthen: I bet you do.
Arm: We hear a sound in the cave. We are very scared.
John Volanthen: No need to be scared now. It’s just water. It’s just the cave.
Commander Kiet: [in Thai, referring to John and Rick] The old men found the boys!
News Reporter: Specialist cave rescue divers Rick Stanton, a retired firefighter, and John Volanthen, an IT consultant, have found the missing boys, and their football coach. Last seen nine days ago, and presumed trapped in the flooded caves, all twelve boys and their coach are now confirmed to be alive.
Captain Olivia Taft: The news guys can be a pain in the butt. You just got to handle them right.
Rick Stanton: What do you want me to tell them? “We found the boys. Now let’s all watch them die.”
John Volanthen: Okay, Rick. Take it easy.
Rick Stanton: I’m just telling it like it is. All this water pumping, flooding fields, praying to shrines, it’s bulls**t! I’m not having it.
'Do your best. And if we fail, the failure is mine alone.' - Governor Narongsak (Thirteen Lives) Click To Tweet
Rick Stanton: If you try and dive those kids the whole way, all you’d be bringing out is dead bodies!
Rick Stanton: This is exactly what I didn’t want.
John Volanthen: Well, you knew we’d find them.
Rick Stanton: I didn’t expect to find them alive.
John Volanthen: Well, it’s done now.
Coach: [in Thai] Fear is created in our minds.
Rick Stanton: [referring to caves] Then comes a tough dive. It’s a long, shallow tunnel, bit more twisty than this, three hundred and fifty meters. No visibility. Pulling against very strong currents.
John Volanthen: No headroom at all. And there’s undercuts on all the bends. They’re very, very dangerous.
Rick Stanton: So, you must always keep to the wider side of the line, or you’ll get trapped. At the end of that, you’ll reach the boys.
Trailer: