Product Details

• Actors: Tim Roth, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Okonedo, Hugh Bonneville, Gina McKee
• Directors: Bharat Nalluri
• Writers: Abi Morgan
• Producers: Abi Morgan, Charles Hubbard, Colin Callender, Derek Wax, Finola Dwyer
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Hbo Home Video
• DVD Release Date: April 24, 2007
• Run Time: 111 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000MV8ZZY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,711 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Tsunami - The Aftermath" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A co-production of HBO and the BBC, Tsunami: The Aftermath puts a human face on the epic-scale disaster that struck the coasts of Thailand on December 26, 2004. The catastrophic aftermath of the history-making tsunami is impressively re-created as an otherworldly coastal zone of death and destruction, complete with such eerie sights as boats lodged into resort-hotel balconies and entire villages flattened by nature's wrath, but the real strength of this three-hour TV drama lies in its interwoven plot and characters (tourists and natives alike) whose lives were deeply and permanently changed in the wake of disaster. As directed by Bharat Nalluri and written by Abi Morgan, this well-made film drew justified criticism for weakening a factual disaster with fictional characters, but the story was so thoroughly researched (including interviews with survivors, etc.) that its very real human drama serves as an entry-point for viewer and characters alike to grapple with the almost unfathomable scale of the tsunami's destruction. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Inside Man, Children of Men) leads a large and excellent cast as Ian, a British tourist desperately searching for his missing 4-year-old daughter amidst the ruins of a devastated resort; he proceeds to help a young Thai waiter named Than (Samrit Machielsen) and is reunited with his wife (played by Hotel Rwanda Oscar® nominee Sophie Okonedo), who wrestles with her own issues of guilt and estrangement. Their parental anguish becomes the film's wrenching heart and soul.

The story also follows several other characters including a jaded journalist (Tim Roth) investigating official mishandling of the tsunami threat; another tourist (Gina McKee) coping with her husband's death and a severely injured son; and a devoted aid worker (Toni Collette) who cuts through bureaucratic nonsense to help those in need. Through these excellent performances, Tsunami: The Aftermath gains strength as an engrossing study of tenacity, compassion, and survival amidst chaos. Would a real-life docudrama have been more dramatically effective? Perhaps, but as a worthy alternative, Tsunami brings complex humanity to a tragic event that can't be neatly summarized with statistics, interviews, and round-the-clock coverage on CNN. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

TWO YEARS AGO, THE WORLD SHUDDERED IN THE WAKE OF THE TSUNAMI THAT RAVAGED THE COAST OF THAILAND. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS LOSTTHEIR LIVES. THOSE WHO SURVIVED LOST THEIR INNOCENCE. BASED ONACTUAL EVENTS, THIS FOLLOWS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES ARE IRREVOCABLY TRANSFORMED BY THIS CATACLYSMIC NATURAL DISASTER.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An Ambitious HBO Miniseries Becomes A Misguided And Offensive Telepic About Everything Except Thailand, February 25, 2007

By 

K. Harris "Film aficionado" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tsunami - The Aftermath (DVD)

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.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, September 22, 2008

By 

H. L. Mason "relyonme" (Spain) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tsunami - The Aftermath (DVD)

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.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, sad but real, August 31, 2010

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Jah - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Tsunami - The Aftermath (DVD)

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.