Pick of the week
Thirteen Lives
The plain facts behind Ron Howard’s new film are extraordinary, even without dramatisation. In 2018, 12 boys and their football coach became trapped by flood waters in a cave system in Thailand. As the monsoon threatened, an international operation – including Thai Navy Seals and two UK cave rescuers – struggled to save them. To his credit, Howard tells the tale with minimal fuss; the uptick in tension as the days pass and the extreme claustrophobia of the underwater scenes are enough to make it gripping. There is star wattage from Colin Farrell and Viggo Mortensen as the British divers but they are admirably understated, and the Thai people involved are given their due, too. Out now, Amazon Prime Video
Theatre of Blood
