In “13 Lives”, Ron Howard directed the Thai Cave Rescue

It may be common not to reveal the result of a film, but Ron Howard learned years ago Apollo 13, that knowing the end of a story is different from knowing the story itself. And while the rescue of the Thai men’s soccer team and its manager in 2018 is noticeably cooler in our collective memory, the playmaker saw a similar opportunity in it.

“You may know from the headlines that things have gone well, but you don’t know what kind of personal fights might be in store for the key characters,” Howard said. “Through drama, good acting, stage and film, you begin to connect emotionally with the characters in a way you can’t with a documentary or news coverage.”

Somehow, the story was tailored for a Hollywood production with its happy ending and his simple acts of heroism. The 18-day saga has already inspired a great documentary, The rescue‘(Rescue in the depths), and various other projects.

But the reality of doing Thirteen lives (13 lives), which is currently playing in theaters in North America from Friday it will be available on Amazon Prime Video, it was an extremely complex and sometimes painful task. Howard also said he ranks in the “upper quadrant” of more challenging films than him.

And it wasn’t just about the difficulties of filming dangerous cave dives in the narrow underwater corridors of Tham Luang Lang Non, which were recreated for the film by production designer Molly Hughes, but about telling the stories of all the people who contributed to the success. by Mission Impossible.

As everyone quickly realized, there were quite a few people worthy of being in front of the camera. There were the British divers and Thai Navy SEALS, of course, but also the parents, the children and the coach in the cave, the public officials who handled the crisis and the thousands of foreign and local volunteers who contributed small and large. way ways.

“I felt a bit like an orchestra conductor”Howard said. “Logistically it was very complicated. And I felt a deeper responsibility to do this on behalf of the people involved than any other film I’ve made based on real events.”

Due to travel restrictions by the COVID-19, most of the shooting took place in Queensland, Australia, with additional scenes in Thailand that Howard had to direct remotely.

With Viggo and Colin

Of course, though, there is a focus on British divers who had the boys and coach swim out of the cave one by one. The roles attracted the actors Viggo Mortensen (as Rick Stanton) Colin Farrell (like John Volanthen) and Joel Edgerton (like Dr. Harris), who have developed a close relationship with their real-life counterparts.

From the beginning, the plan was for the actors to be part of the cave dive and complement it with acrobatics. There would be a dive supervisor, Andrew Allen, and a director of underwater photography, Simon Christidis. But at some point in the intense three-week training, the decision was made that the actors would shoot most of the cave scenes on their own.

“I blame Viggo ‘‘said Farrell, laughing. “He was the one who insisted we do it. While we were there …”

“It was as safe and controlled as possible, but there were a couple of times where it was pretty stressful,” Farrell said. “I haven’t exactly had a severe panic attack, but there was moments of anxiety, a real anxiety. I guess I’m describing some kind of panic attack, albeit a mild one. ”

But everyone was also well aware that their experience was only a small part of what was at stake in the actual do-or-die mission. It wasn’t a set, Mortensen said, where people complained about breakfast burritos, coffee or the weather, especially with real divers around.

“The demand was great. It was hardsaid Tom Bateman, who plays diver Chris Jewell. “But we just got close to some amazing people. Nobody complained once.”

“I’m very happy to be in this movie, not only because it’s Ron Howard and it’s a great adventure story and it’s also a lot of fun, but it’s an important story” Mortensen said. “It’s an example of people doing the right thing together and many people selflessly volunteering for the right reasons, for the greater good, and that’s extraordinary these days.”

“It should be more common than the selfish, greedy, monopolistic, competitive and dishonest behavior that many leaders exemplify around the world. When you see people who don’t, you say, ‘Oh yes, humans are capable of that. It’s possible. Why not. It’s not just a Hollywood movie. It really happened. These people did it together, “added the actor. “This is the best of us”.

Source Agency AP

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