Thirteen Lives  ★★★½

ONCE again director Ron Howard has managed to create tension and suspense where there could have been none at all.

There are hardly any people on the planet who don’t recall the rescue in 2018 of a Thai soccer team and their coach from a flooded cave system.

For more than two weeks the world held its breath as Thai authorities, rescue teams and volunteers, bolstered by assistance from other countries, defied seemingly insurmountable odds to save 13 young lives.

How this was achieved, losing two other lives in the process, is the subject of Howard’s latest film, Thirteen Lives, which benefits greatly from having been partly filmed on location, using many local actors and working with the government and many of the actual people involved.

The result is an accurate, balanced and nuanced film that pays tribute and respect to everyone involved and in particular the spirit of both human sacrifice and Thai culture.

Name actors Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton play the British and Australian expert cave divers who found the boys and then coordinated the incredible job of retrieving them all through an intricate, dangerous underwater cave system.

But all three deliver under-stated performances that ensure centre-stage for much of the running time is focused on the real-life heroes they are portraying, as opposed to the actors themselves.

Regardless how much you know about these incredible events, the film is a worthy and respectful tribute that also manages to build suspense throughout.