sharperpencil Review of The Cave

The Cave (III) (2019)

Effective and heartwarming telling of a story with a lot of heroes

[9/10 · 11 December 2020]

This film focuses on the rescuers, in particular one of the International divers, an Irishman. But it also makes time for the local heroes of this story - the farmers whose livelihoods were threatened by the rescue efforts, the people providing food for the rescuers and, in a near film-stealing turn, a local drainage expert. Using the real people rather than actors in some instances does mean their performances seem a little stilted, but the trade-off is that as you warm to them you know you're warming to the real people (and you really do warm to them). The film also does a very effective job of conveying the chaos as multiple agencies, nationalities, languages and skill-sets try to coordinate a massive operation under incredible time pressure, as the waters are predicted to rise still further and make any rescue impossible. It's a real feat to convey all the logistics of the events while still foregrounding the human element. By the end if you're not wiping away a tear then there's something wrong with you.