# The Rescue (2021 film)
*The Rescue* is a 2021 feature documentary directed by [Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi](https://www.edgepedia.org/elizabeth-chai-vasarhelyi) and Jimmy Chin for National Geographic Documentary Films that chronicles the 2018 rescue of twelve boys and their coach from the flooded Tham Luang cave in [Northern Thailand](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-thailand).[1](https://films.nationalgeographic.com/the-rescue) The film premiered in select theaters on October 8, 2021, distributed by Greenwich Entertainment, and began streaming on Disney+ on December 3, 2021.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rescue_2021) • [3](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/national-geographic-the-rescue-streaming-on-disney-plus-december-3) It won the People's Choice Documentary Award at the 2021 [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival).[4](https://jimmychin.com/motion/the-rescue/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Directors | E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the married duo behind *Free Solo* (2018) and *Meru* (2015)[1](https://films.nationalgeographic.com/the-rescue) |
| Subject | The 2018 rescue of twelve boys and their coach from a flooded cave in Northern Thailand, focusing on the rescuers[1](https://films.nationalgeographic.com/the-rescue) |
| Release | US theaters October 8, 2021 (Greenwich Entertainment); Disney+ streaming December 3, 2021[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rescue_2021) • [3](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/national-geographic-the-rescue-streaming-on-disney-plus-december-3) |
| Runtime and rating | 107 minutes (TRT 107:16); rated PG in the US[5](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/C8/1A/C81A2B2F-8E97-D530-D804-E9CA2630D78B/THE_RESCUE_Press_Notes_Final.docx.pdf) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rescue_2021) |
| Signature footage | 87 hours of previously unseen footage shot by the Thai Navy SEALs during the mission[6](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/oct/10/british-diver-relives-gripping-thai-cave-rescue) |
| Key crew | Editor Bob Eisenhardt; composer Daniel Pemberton; cinematographers David Katznelson, Picha Srisansanee, and Ian Seabrook[5](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/C8/1A/C81A2B2F-8E97-D530-D804-E9CA2630D78B/THE_RESCUE_Press_Notes_Final.docx.pdf) |
| Award | People's Choice Documentary Award, 2021 Toronto International Film Festival[4](https://jimmychin.com/motion/the-rescue/) |
| Languages | English, Thai, Korean, and Norwegian; produced in the US and UK[5](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/C8/1A/C81A2B2F-8E97-D530-D804-E9CA2630D78B/THE_RESCUE_Press_Notes_Final.docx.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Subject and approach
The film revisits the June and July 2018 events in which twelve members of the Wild Boars youth soccer team, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old assistant coach were trapped by monsoon flooding inside the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system in Chiang Rai province. They were found alive in a pitch-black chamber two kilometers deep into the cave, and the central problem the film examines is how to get them out.[5](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/C8/1A/C81A2B2F-8E97-D530-D804-E9CA2630D78B/THE_RESCUE_Press_Notes_Final.docx.pdf) The rescue operation involved more than 10,000 people and more than 100 divers over 18 days.[7](https://documentary.org/column/rescue-recounts-2018-thailand-cave-mission)
**Focus on the rescuers.** Unlike some other retellings, the film centers on the rescue divers rather than the boys, because the rights to the boys' story had been bought for a separate Netflix project.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/31/the-rescue-review-thai-cave-rescue-documentary-free-solo-directors) Its portraits include the British volunteer cave divers [Rick Stanton](https://www.edgepedia.org/rick-stanton), a retired firefighter, and [John Volanthen](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-volanthen), an IT consultant, who located the team, as well as the Royal Thai Navy SEALs, US Air Force Special Tactics personnel, and the Australian cave-diving anesthesiologist [Richard Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-harris), whose sedation plan allowed the boys to be carried out through the flooded passages.[9](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/inside-the-risky-cave-dive-that-rescued-a-thai-soccer-team) • [8](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/31/the-rescue-review-thai-cave-rescue-documentary-free-solo-directors) In the directors' statement, Vasarhelyi and Chin describe the film as being about moral responsibility: when people have the skill set to rescue someone, do they bear the burden to do so even at risk to themselves.[5](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/C8/1A/C81A2B2F-8E97-D530-D804-E9CA2630D78B/THE_RESCUE_Press_Notes_Final.docx.pdf)
## Production
Vasarhelyi and Chin joined the project after director Kevin Macdonald, who had originally been attached, left it; [National Geographic](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-geographic) brought them in following the success of their Oscar-winning *Free Solo*.[10](https://moveablefest.com/jimmy-chin-chai-vasarhelyi-rescue/) The shoot was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic: the planned trip to Thailand in spring 2020 was judged too risky, so interviews were conducted by [Zoom](https://www.edgepedia.org/zoom-software) across different cultures, languages, and time zones.[5](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/C8/1A/C81A2B2F-8E97-D530-D804-E9CA2630D78B/THE_RESCUE_Press_Notes_Final.docx.pdf)
**Assembling the material.** The directors faced a documentary with no usable footage of its central event, since filming inside the cave was prohibited during the rescue and everything there is dark, underwater, and muddy.[7](https://documentary.org/column/rescue-recounts-2018-thailand-cave-mission) They built the film from roughly 2,000 archival clips, including the Thai Navy SEAL material; interviews with rescuers and officials; visual-effects renderings of the cave based on a 3D scan; and reenactments performed by the divers themselves, including underwater work shot by cinematographer Ian Seabrook.[7](https://documentary.org/column/rescue-recounts-2018-thailand-cave-mission) • [11](https://theasc.com/article/the-rescue-heroic-extraction/) The SEAL footage, long rumored to exist, turned out to total 87 hours and had never been seen publicly; securing it came late in production and forced the directors to restructure the film about six months before release.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/oct/10/british-diver-relives-gripping-thai-cave-rescue) • [7](https://documentary.org/column/rescue-recounts-2018-thailand-cave-mission)
The producers were P.J. van Sandwijk, John Battsek, Vasarhelyi, and Chin, with Wes Tooke credited as screenwriter on the [British Council](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-council) database entry.[5](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/C8/1A/C81A2B2F-8E97-D530-D804-E9CA2630D78B/THE_RESCUE_Press_Notes_Final.docx.pdf) • [12](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/the-rescue) Composer Daniel Pemberton wrote the score, and the soundtrack included the original song "Believe" by [Aloe Blacc](https://www.edgepedia.org/aloe-blacc).[3](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/national-geographic-the-rescue-streaming-on-disney-plus-december-3)
## Reception
The film won the People's Choice Documentary Award at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, an honor its predecessor *Free Solo* had also received before winning the Academy Award.[4](https://jimmychin.com/motion/the-rescue/) • [13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jpmoLIAzMY) Critics responded strongly: Variety called it "Extraordinary. A rousing film that celebrates humanity at its most selfless," and [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) wrote that it "keeps you on the edge of your seat for every minute, even if you already know the outcome."[14](https://greenwichentertainment.com/film/the-rescue/) The Guardian's review praised how the directors wove twenty-four-hour news coverage with footage filmed by locals and reconstructions starring the divers themselves.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/31/the-rescue-review-thai-cave-rescue-documentary-free-solo-directors)
## Place among the rescue's screen adaptations
*The Rescue* is one of several film and television treatments of the 2018 cave rescue. Tom Waller's Thai production *The Cave* (2019) used reconstructions and news footage; [Ron Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-howard)'s drama *Thirteen Lives* (2022) starred [Colin Farrell](https://www.edgepedia.org/colin-farrell) and [Viggo Mortensen](https://www.edgepedia.org/viggo-mortensen) as the British divers; and Netflix released both the miniseries *Thai Cave Rescue* (2022) and the documentary *The Trapped 13: How We Survived the Thai Cave* (2022), which tells the story from the boys' own perspective.[15](https://time.com/6215763/thai-cave-rescue-netflix-true-story/) Reviewers noted the complementary perspectives: *The Rescue* covers the technical and rescue-side story, while the Netflix projects center the trapped team.[15](https://time.com/6215763/thai-cave-rescue-netflix-true-story/)
## References
1. [The Rescue, Nat Geo Doc Films](https://films.nationalgeographic.com/the-rescue)
2. [The Rescue (2021), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_rescue_2021)
3. [National Geographic's The Rescue Begins Streaming on Disney+ December 3, Disney Plus Press](https://press.disneyplus.com/news/national-geographic-the-rescue-streaming-on-disney-plus-december-3)
4. [The Rescue, Jimmy Chin official site](https://jimmychin.com/motion/the-rescue/)
5. [THE RESCUE Press Notes, National Geographic Documentary Films](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/C8/1A/C81A2B2F-8E97-D530-D804-E9CA2630D78B/THE_RESCUE_Press_Notes_Final.docx.pdf)
6. [British diver relives gripping Thai cave rescue, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/oct/10/british-diver-relives-gripping-thai-cave-rescue)
7. ['The Rescue' Recounts the 2018 Thailand Cave Mission, International Documentary Association](https://documentary.org/column/rescue-recounts-2018-thailand-cave-mission)
8. [The Rescue review, The Guardian / The Observer](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/31/the-rescue-review-thai-cave-rescue-documentary-free-solo-directors)
9. [Inside the risky cave dive that rescued a Thai soccer team, National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/inside-the-risky-cave-dive-that-rescued-a-thai-soccer-team)
10. [How The Rescue Directors Surfaced the Mechanics of the Impossible, The Moveable Fest](https://moveablefest.com/jimmy-chin-chai-vasarhelyi-rescue/)
11. [The Rescue: Heroic Extraction, American Cinematographer](https://theasc.com/article/the-rescue-heroic-extraction/)
12. [The Rescue, British Council UK Films Database](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/the-rescue)
13. [THE RESCUE Q&A, TIFF 2021, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jpmoLIAzMY)
14. [The Rescue, Greenwich Entertainment](https://greenwichentertainment.com/film/the-rescue/)
15. [Netflix's Authentic Thai Cave Rescue and the True Story Filmmakers Can't Stop Retelling, TIME](https://time.com/6215763/thai-cave-rescue-netflix-true-story/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Documentary films by subject: people, identity, and communities*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license