Director
Bharat Nalluri
Cast
Tim Roth Nick Fraser
Chiwetel Ejiofor Ian Carter
Sophie Okonedo Susie Carter
Hugh Bonneville Tony Whittaker
Toni Collette Kathy Graham
Samrit Machielsen Than
DVD Release Date: April 24, 2007
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 185 Minutes on 2 discs
The Movie
The day after Christmas in 2004, many children were playing with their new toys and people all over enjoyed their gifts and time with loved ones. But for hundreds of thousands of people, the joy would not last long as they lost everything they owned and most even lost their lives. A tsunami in the Indian Ocean destroyed parts of Southern Asia and some parts of Africa shattering the lives of thousands. A massive earthquake in the middle of the ocean caused, literally, walls of water to swallow up cities and take everything down in its path. One location that looked to be completely devastated by the disaster was the beach resort town of Khao Lak on the island of Phuket in Thailand.
Susie Carter had signed up for a diving expedition off the beach coast and was enjoying the sights and surprised a little at how choppy the water was that morning. But after a few minutes it calmed down, and all aboard the ship enjoyed their dive. Upon getting back on board the boat, everyone begins noticing that something is wrong on shore and they start back in. Horrible sights greet them as buildings are missing, debris is everywhere, and bodies are floating all over the place. It is then that reality sets in and they must all find their families. If they are still there.
A flashback to Christmas Day introduces us to the rest of Susie’s family; her husband Ian and daughter Martha. They are a British family on holiday at the resort. Another British family, the Peabodys consisting of James, Kim, John, and Morgan are also vacationing in Khao Lak. They were extremely excited to be going to such a lush climate and enjoying the sand and water while most of the world was in freezing temperatures. Little did they know what trouble lie in store for them; little did anyone know what was coming as Than, a waiter at the resort, also had no idea that his day would be anything but routine.
It is then that both the horror and wonder of the tsunami is brought to the forefront. All those on the beach watch in shock as the water quickly fades backwards from shore leaving fish and other sea creatures exposed on the sand. Standing in awe and confusion those closest to the water barely have seconds to get away before being completely encompassed in water; they had no chance. People begin running down the streets just trying to find high shelter to get away from something that they don’t even know how it happened. When it’s finally settled down, all that remains is destruction, death, and despair. Both the Peabodys and the Carters search for missing members of their family along with everyone else in the town.
Nick Fraser is a top reporter in Bangkok and gets the assignment of his life so he heads straight for Phuket. He is determined to report the entire story no matter how graphic it may seem because he has another matter in mind. Fraser gets on track to find out why there was no warning for the people. There was no system in place to even give them a chance of keeping their lives in tact or their families safe.
At this time two government officials from the British embassy in Bangkok also set out for the disaster area. British official Tony Whittaker sets out to check on all the British people who may be vacationing or living in Phuket at the time. His journey is not an easy one though, as traveling with him is Kathy Graham who is constantly on his case about not doing enough while their main focus should be on helping everyone, not just certain groups of people.
The anger, sadness, heartache, anxiety, and dread of survivors are shown in so many different ways. They argue their points to anyone who will listen to them so that they can figure out if those who are missing are possibly still alive. People want to know what can be done to hinder this kind of damage from happening again in the future. Or better yet, to stop any death or massive destruction from happening at all. The Carters have each other, but they are missing their young daughter and they will search every single abandoned building or under piece of debris until they find her, dead or alive. Than has lost his entire family to the massive amounts of water and his home is in complete ruins. The Peabodys have seen their family split in half as Kim and the youngest son Adam are searching for her husband and oldest child. The danger is behind those lucky enough to make it now, but the worst is yet to come.
I know they aren’t exactly the same, but for someone who experienced Katrina dead on, this mini-series got to me. Don’t get all over me because I know there are major differences but there are still the similarities of death, destruction, and complete loss. Tsunami captures the feeling of heartache and just total confusion of those who come in off the boat so perfectly that you would think they were going through it for real.
Everyone who came off the diving boat went through three serious emotions of confusion, sadness, and panic in a matter of sixty seconds. It was just amazing and horrifying watching them run through this destroyed city simply trying to find any shred of life or their families.
The sense of urgency and love shown in the search by the Carters and the Peabodys showcases just what every single survivor was probably going through at the time the water settled and began to fade away. Material possessions were never a concern until they after they had all those they cared for accounted for and in good health. You will feel what these people are feeling as you follow them on their journey to make their families whole and try to rebuild their lives when all is taken from them in a matter of seconds.
The entire crew did such a fantastic job of not only recreating the wave and damage, but making sure all the little details were in the film to make it seem as accurate as possible. It is said that anyone who happened to below the water or diving at the time of the tsunami didn’t even know anything happened. A few waves or surges may have been felt, but nothing to signal to them that something was wrong. That makes the opening scene of the film so much stronger because the fear is evident when they all get back on the deck and look back to see a totally different shore then when they set sail.
Combine the crew work with excellent performances from Okonedo (Susie), Ejiofor (Ian), and Roth (Nick) and they really bring about the feelings of the entire tragedy. The desperation that Okonedo and Ejiofor show makes you feel as if they may have honestly had a child together and lost her somewhere before. Their feelings of grief and guilt just seem so sincere that putting yourself in their shoes is bound to happen and wonder how it would be were you to be in their situation. Roth also fits perfectly as the rebel reporter who realizes there is more to the story then just death and destruction. Feeling he can do something good while also getting the scoop, he throws himself directly into the line of fire to help.
One problem with the film is that it really begins to drag right in the middle. The opening thirty minutes are full of a great rush and you’ll be so occupied by the waves and running around that before you know it, the rescue operation is in full effect. This is then where things begin to slow down. Watching officials file into the area and take complaints and argue with each other about what needs to be done is almost like sitting in on a town meeting. It just isn’t enjoyable. But it begins to pick up again in the second half as more action is taken and things start to look up for some. It’s obvious though why it was originally shown as a miniseries though because at three hours with a dull middle; it’s kind of difficult to stay focused.
The Video
The film is seen in 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen format and looks good, but you can tell it’s a made for TV movie. That’s not to say that it looks bad at all because it is very well done from the cinematography to the special effects, but it just has that feeling about it that it was meant to be straight to TV and somewhat of a documentary. The colors are rich and bright and everything looks good. Well, as good as a disaster is supposed to look.
The Audio
The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and is perfectly fine. The musical score chosen for the film does a nice job of setting the moods for each scene and can be heard clearly, but it isn’t loud enough to drown out the dialogue. Every single bird, animal, and child can be heard so no detail was left out. And the booming of the waves comes in loud and clear so well that it makes you kind of feel like you are there which is just frightening.
Special Features
“The Story Behind The Film” Featurette – This is only a ten minute segment, but a very good one. Almost everyone from the cast and crew to actual survivors discuss the tsunami itself. It is all about the actual disaster and how things happened, and there is barely any talk of the film until near the end. A lot of home video footage from the tsunami is shown and it really is heartbreaking. They leave nothing out when showing palm tree high waves, cars being overturned, and people just floating by caught in the rush of water. It’s disturbing yet you’ll find yourself not being able to look away.
“Recreating Nature’s Fury” Featurette> – Another short one but this will be your making-of feature. The directors and producers discuss how they researched all they could find on the internet, from survivors, and memorials in Thailand to make it look as if the disaster had just happened. The different types of destruction and the actual waves themselves needed to look perfect so people who weren’t there can get the full affect of how serious and horrible it was when it took place.
The Inside Pulse
Tsunami: The Aftermath is a fantastic look at a horrible event. Every disastrous occurrence to ever happen has had a film made after it so the feeling of “this is in bad taste” has long since disappeared. It is wonderfully made for a “made for TV” film in not just the cinematography but also the acting and storyline. It is almost as if a reality camera crew got there moments before the surge actually happened and then stuck around for a couple weeks. As I’ve said, the film is not without its dull moments, but overall it stays enjoyable. But with a decent film come below average special features. They are actually very good but there are only two and they add up to about fifteen minutes combined when they could have lasted an hour each and I would have stayed glued to the set. It wouldn’t be a waste to pick up this DVD for it truly is a good watch, but if you have a free weekend to watch it in spurts, then might as well rent it.
