Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006) (TV)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Bharat Nalluri

Writer:

Abi Morgan (written by)

Release Date:

9 December 2006 (South Africa)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Inspired by true accounts, this HBO miniseries focuses on a group of fictional characters caught up in the harrowing aftermath of the tsunami that devastated the coast of Thailand two years ago.

Plot Keywords:

Tsunami | Disaster

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Tim Roth	...	Nick Fraser
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Ian Carter
Sophie Okonedo	...	Susie Carter
Hugh Bonneville	...	Tony Whittaker
Gina McKee	...	Kim Peabody
Samrit Machielsen	...	Than
Grirggiat Punpiputt	...	Pravat Meeko
Toni Collette	...	Kathy Graham
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kate Ashfield	...	Ellen
Aure Atika	...	Simone
Schwis Bhokhahhanes	...	Morgue Attendant
Tanapol Chuksrida	...	Boat Captain
Leon Ford	...	Joe Meddler
Glacian Jarusomboon	...	Dr. Boomers Potuk
Morgan David Jones	...	John Peabody
Jacek Koman	...	Peer
Will Yun Lee	...	Chai
Velicitat Lionel	...	French Man
Edith Loney	...	Eve's Mother
Savannah Loney	...	Eve
George MacKay	...	Adam Peabody
Jazmyn Maraso	...	Martha Carter
Usuma Sukhsvash	...	Suk, Chai's wife
Poh Sursakul	...	Than's Grandmother
Owen Teale	...	James Peabody
Diane Zurn	...	Mother reunited w / daughter

Also Known As:

Tsunami (USA) (working title)
Efter tsunamin (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Tsunami (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Tsunami - Die Killerwelle (Germany) [de]
Tsunami - El día después (Argentina) (DVD title) [es]
Tsunami - Les jours d'après (France) [fr]
Tsunami ston Indiko - Vivliki katastrofi (Greece) [el]
Tsunamin jälkeen (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

186 min (2 parts) | Australia:111 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2007) (TV)

Too much dignified emoting

The problem with making a film about a well-known disaster is that the obvious line of dramatic development is precluded precisely because everyone knows it before the film starts. In 'Titanic', James Cameron spun a tale about the spirit of the age, which he bound up with the famous event at the heart of the film; but 'Tsumami: the Aftermath' tries no such tricks, and sells us a straightforward catalogue of human misery and suffering. It's all very earnest, and unclear what the point is supposed to be. Countless survivors (with missing relatives) are shown responding with a mixture of dignity and disbelief in reality. This may be one response to tragedy, but it's not the only one, and in this film appears to be celebrated as the highest expression of the human condition: epitomised when one man stands up at a public meeting and is applauded for his heartfelt but impossible demand that his (dead) child is returned to him. Liekwise, the film stresses a view that those on the scene in a non-personal capacity needed to emotionally empathise with the feelings of the suffering, whereas one could argue that, when it comes to the rationing of limited resources, one actually needs officials who can be completely dispassionate, and who can turn down the heart-rending (and conventionally justified) demands of those who cry loudest to meet instead the needs of those with even greater need. Finally, there is a political sub-plot, but this is presented more as a means to the redemption of a cynical journalist (who, as you might have guessed, learns to care) than as an end in itself.

The review may sound pretty cynical in itself, and I don't want to belittle the appalling human suffering of the real life tragedy in any way. But this film's obsession with dignified emoting puts a very strange spin on the human condition.