Film Jeffrey Zhang Film Jeffrey Zhang

TIFF 2021 Film Review: The Rescue

Kicking off TIFF’s documentary slate is Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vaserhelyi’s The Rescue, a deeper look at the daring mission to save 12 children and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand. A film naturally picking up the mantle of the filmmakers’ Oscar-winning Free Solo, it’s a rousing tale of humanity that crescendoes into an unbelievable climax of selfless individuals coming together.

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Film Jeffrey Zhang Film Jeffrey Zhang

Film Review: Free Solo

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s new documentary Free Solo is a thrilling look at the most dangerous form of climbing through the eyes of Alex Honnold, one of the most accomplished free climbers of all time. The film follows Honnold as he attempts to scale the daunting El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park without the use of ropes or protective gear. Glib psychoanalysis periodically threatens to sap the film’s energy, but every second focused on Honnold’s daredevil ascent is breathtaking and gut-wrenching, transforming it into one of the best documentaries of the year. Minor spoilers ahead…

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