A new Thai movie about the Wild Boars cave rescue is coming soon

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Read the following story by Kong Rithdee from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.

Of all the films scheduled to come out in 2019, one will return Thailand to the headlines. Various projects based on last year’s dramatic rescue of the 12 Wild Boars footballers and their coach have been talked about, and now a Thai film has finished shooting.

ONE YEAR ON

Nang Non, or The Cave, is directed by Tom Waller, a Thai filmmaker of Irish descent who started shooting the film in November last year. Waller plans to release the film in July to mark the first anniversary of the Tham Luang story, in which a group of 13 locals in Chiang Rai were trapped in a flooded cave as the mobilisation of volunteers and experts from around the world to rescue them became one of the most gripping news stories of 2018.

The 12 boys and their coach went into Tham Luang Cave on June 23, and the last of them was taken out to safety on July 10. No sooner had the boys been dried and fed than there were a number of filmmakers, mostly foreigners, expressing interest in adapting the story to the screen. The government, citing concern over the boys’ privacy as well as hinting at the need to control the narrative of the rescue, announced that any film project based on the incident would have to be approved by them.

That rule, however, appears to have been directed only at non-Thai projects. Waller said he had approached the authorities before the shoot and they had no objection since this would be a Thai film.

A VOLUNTEER’S STORY

The Cave, said Waller, started with his interview with James Warny, an Ireland-based diver who took part in the rescue mission, and later some of the other divers also came on board. In a recent conversation, the filmmaker outlined some of the key points regarding The Cave.

“We’ve heard so much about the boys and how they got trapped in the cave, so the film will mostly be told from the point of view of the volunteers and the divers,” said Waller. “Some of the divers who were there talked to me and we were able to construct a very realistic narrative of the event. James Warny — who was responsible for bringing out Coach Ek [Ekkapol Chantawong] — Erik Brown, Mikko Paasi and Tan Xiaolong, these divers played themselves in the film. I also have one of the water-pumping teams playing himself.”

SAFETY FIRST

To avoid complications and the issue of privacy, Waller said the boys and the coach are not the main stars. The characters of the boys will have very few lines in the film.

“I see the whole thing as a story of the volunteer spirit, so we tell their stories and not the boys’,” said Waller. “The film will be told largely from the base camp outside the cave, rather than from inside the cave. It will feature a large cast, and if there’s a ‘lead character’, I would say it’s James Warny. He told me it’s much more difficult being in front of the camera than diving into the cave!”

It’s impossible to shoot the film at the actual Tham Luang Cave in Chiang Rai. Though the place has been opened to visitors — it was thronged with thousands of tourists during the New Year holidays — shooting there is off-limits. “We shot at other caves in Thailand, and we also built sets, since we had to flood it and safety is our priority.”

Section 1

Read through the story and answer the following questions. 

1. When will The Cave be released? …………….

2. When did the boys enter the cave? …………….

3. The movie project began with an interview. True or false? …………….

4. Who brought Coach Ek out of the cave? …………….

5. Who is Mikko Paasi? ………….....

6. Who is the main focus of the film?

a. The Wild Boars. b. The rescue teams. c. The team coach.

7. What did James say was more difficult? 

a. Acting. b. Diving. c. The story doesn’t say. 

8. In which caves were scenes shot?

a. In Tham Luang Cave. b. In Chiang Rai caves. c. The story doesn’t say.

Section 2

Underline one grammatically incorrect word in each of the following sentences. Then, write down the grammatically correct word in the space given. 

9. The Chiang Rai governor was direction of the rescue mission. ……………

10. We’ll use really news footage of the governor. ……………

11. The film will be a mixture of actors and reality people. ……………

12. The film begins with the boys going outside the cave. ……………

13. The film ends with the latest boy being rescued. ……………

Section 3

Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.

As in the case of the boys, Waller said it’s ….14…. for him to make the film in such a short period with the official ….15…. of the Navy Seals.

“They will ….16…. in the film, but not ….17….,” said the director. “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 ….18…. more on what I learned from international participants, and ….19…. from what is already known by the public.”

14. a. hard b. harder c. hardest

15. a. agreement b. permission c. permit

16. a. appearance b. appear c. are

17. a. all b. many c. much

18. a. focus b. do c. film

19. a. most b. mostly c. all

Section 4

Find a word used in the story that matches the following definitions.

20. Exciting and impressive.

21. The state of being not watched or disturbed by other people.

22. A description of events.

23. Representing things as they are in real life.

24. Courage, determination or energy.

Answers: 

1. July.    2. June 23, 2018.  3. True.   4. James Warny.  5. A diver.   6. b.  7. a.    8. c.

9. direction; director   10. really; real  11. reality; real 12. outside; inside 13. latest; last 

14. a. 15. b. 16. b. 17. c. 18. a. 19. b.

20. dramatic. 21. privacy. 22. narrative. 23. realistic.   24. spirit. 

SCORE

21-24: Excellent! 17-20: Good.   13-16: Fair.   12 or fewer: You'll do better next time!