The first film about the Tham Luang rescue is in cinemas now
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Read the following story by Melalin Mahavongtrakul from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
Over a year has passed since the Tham Luang cave rescue mission made international headlines. The daring attempt to save the 12 boys and coach of the Wild Boars football team gripped the entire world.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
This story of a seemingly impossible operation by a multinational team of rescuers and divers is one the public will not forget. Now, audiences in Thailand have a chance to revisit the story as The Cave opened in local cinemas this week.
Directed by Tom Waller, The Cave is a docudrama - part documentary, part drama - that features both actors and actual volunteers who participated in the rescue mission.
Leading the cast is the Belgian cave diver Jim Warny. During the actual mission, he was responsible for bringing out Ekkapol Chantawong, or Coach Ek. Other divers who appear as themselves in the film are Erik Brown, Mikko Paasi and Tan Xiaolong.
On a recent visit to Thailand, Warny sat down with the Bangkok Post to discuss his experiences during the rescue mission and the film shoot. Waller approached Warny soon after the mission was completed and the two soon developed a mutual vision for the film.
"I felt good in the way he wanted to show the story of the cave rescue. It was a very important choice for me to choose wisely how to talk about the rescue and how to portray it," said Warny, who was impressed with Waller's earlier film, The Last Executioner.
In a previous interview, Waller told the Bangkok Post that The Cave is primarily about the volunteer spirit, and not really about the boys.
"The film will be told largely from the base camp outside the cave, rather than from inside the cave," Waller said. The Wild Boars, or rather the actors portraying them, have small roles in the film.
"In general, it's hard to get the official account of the event from the Thai side, since there's a lot of bureaucracy involved. I focus more on what I glean from international participants, and mostly from what is already in the public domain," the director added.
TELLING TO STORY
By the time the Tham Luang mission concluded, there were many production teams expressing an interest in adapting the event for the screen. So far, only two seem to have taken off, with the other project being developed as a miniseries by Netflix.
Warny revealed he had also been approached by other filmmakers looking to "buy our story and make it into something it wasn't". Through his involvement in The Cave, he got to have a say in how the story was portrayed, which he felt was crucial for authenticity.
"It's a fact that not the whole team is involved [in the project], so I want to portray other people correctly as well -- and decently, too. I don't want to cause conflict or concern. From having seen the movie, I think we have achieved that goal," Warny said.
For the shoot, the cast and crew worked in different caves in Thailand and also on set. They weren't able to film at the actual Tham Luang, which has since become a tourist attraction.
"Re-enacting the rescue was hard work," Warny explained. He did, however, find the experience somewhat surreal. "Watching yourself on-screen is pretty strange," he admits.
And as someone who was in the rescue first-hand, he feels the movie is "immersive and real".
"I want people to see what really happened behind this mission, see how we came together as a team and achieved things against the odds to save these kids successfully. It's an amazing story to share. I hope it might inspire people to overcome fear and do something amazing," he said.
Section 1: Read through the story and answer the following questions.
1. Who is the director of the film? …………….
2. Warny contacted the director after the rescue finished. True or false? …………….
3. The movie focuses on the boys trapped in the cave. True or false? …………….
4. Netflix is also developing a project based on the rescue. True or false? …………….
5. All the rescue divers are involved in the film. True or false? …………..
6. Some of the film was shot at Tham Luang. True or false? …………….
7. Warny isn’t used to seeing himself on screen. True or false? …………….
8. Warny believes the film is inspirational. True or false? …………….
Section 2: Write the noun form of the following words.
9. daring .…..…10. impossible ……..…11. opened …….…12. appear.…… 13. wisely .…………
Section 3: Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.
Warny’s life has changed drastically …14… the rescue. He now has to …15… with media requests and public attention as a result of the …16…-publicised rescue. …17… saying he's not a storyteller, he has given talks and lectures for students and the general public. He sees this as an opportunity to educate people about the underground, adventure and facing …18… fears. "That's really important to me and I try to use the attention and all the good things that come from this to …19… that goal."
14. a. during b. since c. before
15. a. dealing b. dealt c. deal
16. a. very b. highly c. many
17. a. Despite b. However c. Nonetheless
18. a. ours b. one’s c. yours
19. a. win b. score c. achieve
Section 4: Find words that match the following definitions.
20. people who do a job without being paid for it ……………
21. an important job that a person or group of people is given to do ……………
22. a person’s feelings or state of mind ……………
23. the system of official rules and ways of doing things …………
24. extremely important ……………
Answers: 1. Tom Waller. 2. False. 3. False. 4. True. 5. False. 6. False. 7. True. 8. True.
9. dare. 10. impossibility. 11. opening. 12. appearance. 13. wisdom.
14. b. 15. c. 16. b. 17. a. 18. b. 19. c.
20. volunteers. 21. mission. 22. spirit. 23. bureaucracy. 24. crucial.
