Tsunami: Aftermath

HBO Pictures has a pretty good track record when it comes to their Made For TV films. In recent years, their productions have dominated at the Emmy Awards and all but extinguished the network TV movie as a commercially viable enterprise. In that spirit, I really looked forward to the ambitious miniseries "Tsunami-The Aftermath." Headlined with an all star international cast including Oscar nominees Toni Collette, Sophie Okonedo, Tim Roth--this two part film also features Chiwetel Ejiofor, Gina McKee, and Hugh Bonneville. On the surface, "Tsunami" has all the necessary ingredients for riveting and important drama. Attempting to put the epic 2004 Tsunami disaster that struck the coast of Thailand into perspective and highlight the political climate, the heroism, the rescue effort, and the personal stories of those affected--this fictionalization has a lot of material to draw from and a lot of ground to cover. But even though this film garnered many nominations at this year's Golden Globes--I actually found it to be one of the more offensive pictures I've seen in recent memory.

I'm not saying that the film is not well made, far from it. The cinematography, the effects, the performances--again this miniseries has a lot going for it. But what I found completely misguided was its complete lack of concern or respect for the people of Thailand. Exactly one character, Samrit Machielsen, represents the entire plight of the Thai population. The rest of the film centers on British and Americans who happened to have had their vacations disturbed. This could be a legitimate topic, but the film continually manages to put the Thai people in a subservient or even negative light. For example, Machielson plays a bus person at a local resort. After the tsunami strikes, he is relegated to assisting Chiwetel Ejiofor search for his missing daughter. He continually tries to help Ejiofor and get him to safety--even though his entire village and his family have been devastated. That's right, he returns home only after he has placated the tourists.

In another subplot, Tim Roth plays an investigative journalist. One would think he'd be documenting the horrors of the crisis, but he spends half the film exposing how the Thai officials are mishandling the cleanup efforts. When Thai monks are disposing of the dead bodies as per their customs and for public health, they are cast as heartless villains with no concern for people finding their loved ones. Later on, it's hotel conglomerates that are the villains snatching up land to rebuild thanks to corrupt Thai officials. Both of these plots are heavy-handed, overstated, and ridiculously inappropriate. It's as if the film assumes everyone lost something of value--except, of course, Thailand itself. Thailand needs to be saved from itself--how much more offensive can this film be? Thank goodness there are white people like Toni Collette who can single-handedly spearhead all the relief efforts.

Part One so misses its mark in the direct aftermath of the tsunami--I'd rate this half at 1 star. Really, I was so annoyed and angered. Part Two is better because some of the personal stories are more fully explored. I'd rate it at about 3 stars--which isn't too bad as we had almost decided not to bother with this part. Most of the film's performances are effective. However, nothing could have prepared me for how distasteful and disrespectful I found the tone of this piece to be. Far from honoring the survivors or the dead, far from elucidating the facts of the tragedy --"Tsunami" is far more intent of casting blame and aspersions. A total disappointment. KGHarris, 02/07.

This is a most impressive and realistic recreation of the terrifying consequences of this recent natural disaster. This is no maudlin tear jerker, and fortunately does not rely on special effects for its impact.
It is simply a very well acted drama which probably even underplays what must have been sheer hell, although that is not to say the film in any way falls short of conveying the true tragedy of the event.
It has the even greater merit of having been made for TV, which one does not normally associate with this scale of production. If this interests you, and you missed it on TV, get it on DVD - you won't be sorry.

This movie is so beautiful, it shows you the different points of views from the different charcters, which I'm a huge fan of. It gives good details, and meaning to the grief and beliefs of different backgrounds and religions. All the actors were wonderful they played their roles so naturally that you were sucked into the movie. You could begin to feel what they were going through and that its a powerful thing to feel and be able to enjoy. The movie was awesome, its a must see.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 6 reviews  4.0 out of 5 stars