Movie Review
The Trapped 13: We Survived the Thai Cave is Netflix's second offering in two weeks. While the former was a six-part drama, this is a straight documentary narrated by the trapped boys and Coach Eak himself.
The appeal of a documentary is that there is minimal repetition and more new perspectives shown to the audience. Survivor thriller stories often make this element the main conceit of the story. This is an interesting part that makes the audience emotionally attached to the trapped subjects.
Exciting
There is a strange attraction that you feel as a person. You immediately try to subrogate yourself in their situation and empathize with them. Trapped 13 is also exciting because we get first-hand footage of the rescue and how the boys first entered the cave.
To make it more consistent, the creators used a fake montage of events to dramatize the experiences. It's a nice touch as it gives continuity to the experience and visualizes what's going on inside the cave. All the boys and Eak go on camera and build on little clues about how the outside world came in and how they actually survived it.
One of the many things Eak did to help the boys was to ask them to meditate and calm themselves. While many previous versions of the story have made this point, when we hear it directly from the boys' mouths, it hits the mark.
A number of other actors also make appearances throughout the episode. Screen time is increasing for parents, and rightfully so. Despite the heroic efforts of the divers, the Governor, and the Navy SEALs, other retellings reflected them prominently.
Most of the boys trapped inside were from poor families. Their parents are unlikely to miss work and spend time outside the cave to welcome their children. In their interviews, they mention this with impressive sincerity. It breaks your heart to see what they have to go through and how they sacrifice everything to unite, praying to the spirits to bring back their child.
Documentary
It would be somewhat unfair to compare this documentary to the dramatic Netflix series. Netflix was the only production company that could connect with the boys. They incorporated much of what you hear from them in the documentary into the series.
What the documentary made more endearing was the sense of innocence that comes with their age. Titan, Mix, and Mark, among others, mentioned that food was all they could think about while they were there. It was among their deepest desires to order KFC and eat their mother's favorite delicacies.
Although there were moments of fear and despair, the boys generally kept themselves in good spirits as they united. Playing soccer or any team sport together is an empowering exercise that brings you closer to others in a caring way. This uniqueness of the community is revealed in their accounts. It should be noted that the boys who were part of the football team made a difference.
In the segment, Eak explains how this aspect of the band brings them together. Tee, who is the captain of the team, has taken on the responsibility of looking after children like Eak. He was great at dealing with them himself and helped the coach a lot.
The documentary manages to capture the enthusiasm and spirit of the boys as they step in front of the camera without being intrusive. Getting that mix right is often difficult, but the creators of The Trapped 13 do it. This is a completely different perspective that you can see from the rescue.
If you've been caught up in the nitty-gritty details of the operation, four years after it took place, this documentary is a smash hit.