Imagine yourself doing something so mundane that no one pays attention to. Just to one day be the reason some get to live. These divers are quite something. And props to the Thai government for accepting international help and admit they don't have enough expertise. I know if this had happened in some other countries, the kids wouldn't have had a chance.

TEARS. i couldn't control my emotions with this one, very well made documentary

A documentary that holds you from start to finish. Very interesting to see a compilation of all the records of the events in a tense narrative that involves the entire film.

I can recognize when a documentary is well made, while still not loving a lot of common elements of documentary film making. That is certainly the case here, as the duo behind Free Solo do an excellent job bringing this crazy true story to life, while having to lean on reenactments and some overly dramatic interview segments to keep the drama level up. That doesn't mean it isn't effective, as the film lands plenty of powerful/poignant moments, but in most cases the story itself is doing the heavy lifting and the visuals are just sort of there as window dressing. That is to say, reading a Wikipedia summary could easily be just as powerful to me. And that's one of the other problems I often have with documentaries (especially ones that explore an event that isn't even that old): I already know most of the story. It would seem that my aversion to spoilers does not discriminate between fiction and non-fiction. I like to be surprised by a film, and that unfortunately doesn't happen much in cases such as this.

Generosity is the first step for volunteering. Incredible real story.