bothered me. it was a great mini series, but i was hooked on the couple and the missing daughter. i was really hoping they would find her alive or at least have some closure if she died, but you just-kinda got let go. it pissed me off
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Sad to say this "unknown" and missing body example was what we had to deal with daily... the portrayal is very realistic...
shareThe day after it was shown in the UK, the Thai authorities buried the last couple of 100 people that they couldn't identify. It was belived that most were illeagal workers from Burma. Guess it showed even those whose bodies were found weren't all given names.
share"Tsunami" showed the key difference between how American films deal with issues like this and Europeans or non American (in general do...).
IF this was done by an American studio and written by Americans, the couple would've somehow miraculously found the daughter in some stupid, heavy handed emotional way. That's the way Americans are: we're always looking for the silver lining and can't seem to handle downbeat or more somber meanings to film and art. Take a look at the awful "World Trade Center". Despite the thousands killed, that movie focused on two survivors.
C'mon!
A more realistic albeit downbeat approach would be to focus on a family that lost someone. Show them dealing with the hope and the eventual realization that their beloved family member/friend, whatever is gone and must go on.
That's what made "Tsunami" so unique. The somber ending, with the couple simply holding hands made it's point loud and clear in the most simple yet moving of ways. The couple obviously accepted their loss and knew they'd simply have to go on. Maybe they'll stay together, maybe not. That's life.
I was kind of disappointed with the ending I wanted them to find at least the body of the daughter so they could bury it but hey thats life and probably how it was in real life. I also didn't want them to amputate his foot because thats really sad but again thats life. I still think its a great mini series.
"It doesn't make any sense. Thats why I trust it"-Titanic
Yeah, it pissed me off too. I was at least hoping that at least one of the characters would have a decent ending to their harrowing story. I wanted so badly for them to find their baby. Big bummer!
Demetria :)
But realistically, didn't we all know that Martha was dead? After the first couple days, there was really no way that she could be alive and not have been found by someone. I saw their story less about finding Martha, but more about finding the truth in themselves...that their daughter was dead and they may never find her body. The most flinchingly awful scene was when they had their last big fight, when she accuses him again, and he finally says to her "her last words she was asking for you? Where were you?". How will either of them survive the guilt and horror of knowing how their child died, much less how will their marriage survive such a blameless tragedy. It's hard to think that there were probably several relationships that were disintergrated in that way- joy at first from finding each other again, then the guilt and despair over who was lost overtakes that.
Rumors has it, the sequel has the daughter rise up and take on the Tsunami. The studio thinks that this 'realism' stuff is too melodramatic, so they're trying to beef up the storyline a bit. :D
The film's approach was very mature...very insightful and nicely thought out. I thought Colette's little talk at the end was superb. She single handedly brought out the way a disaster can have the most perplexing and seemingly contradictory effect on people. Remember when she said she never felt so alive during the whole thing? It's because her character's skills as a healer/helper were finally being used and it made her feel alive. And at the same time she knew how truly awful it was.
I knew when I saw the BBC logo for this that I realized it was going to be good and not the usual Americanized, sentimental dribble. And I'm American...
There were miraculous reunions between family members & amazing survials, but in the end, hundreds of thousnads of people died. I think to show the story in any other way than they did would have been insulting to everyone concerned. As for not finding Martha, I think that showed a true reflection of the enormity of the event in that 1000 of bodies vanished into the sea.
sharecompletely agree. if there was a happy ending for the couple or the british teenager it would have become not only unrealistic but also insulting to those who actually really lost their family members/friends in this disaster. by showing a tragedy the way it was the movie made those who underwent the tsunami feel that they are understood and there feelings are shared by millions of people all over the world. happy ending would have made anyone concerned suffer more and more over their loss as they would have seen the hope for a different ending, which in fact they could not make happen in reality and they would have started blaming themselves over and over.
however i think the movie should have focused a little bit more on the locals, thai people and the losses they went through.
I agree with Scruff79 and many others.
I agree with the "Americanized" and "Britishized" posters. Of course, there is are differences of opinion.
But!
I think the story lines include many 'sides of the story';
- The Thai who lost his family (most victims were Siamanese)
- The mother and father who lost their daughter
- The vacationing family of mother, father, and two sons. The father died and the elder son lost a leg.
- The aid worker who compassionately advocated for 'victims'
- The reporter and photographer who was trying to find the 'truth'
- And the politics.
The producers did a pretty good job in presenting the impact, but the impact was far greater than any theatric production could encompass.
It wasn't just one Thaiwanese who lost his family.
It wasn't one vacationing couple which lost their child.
It wasn't one vacationing family which lost a family member.
It wasn't one reporter and photographer which tried to record truth.
It wasn't just one aid worker which felt flustered and powerless;
After research, the only flaw in the production that I have found is, there never was a tourism conspiracy to reclaim the beach-front land by burying victims.
Abi, you did a great job except for your conspiracy theory.
The ending was sad, I felt so sad that they didn't find martha alive.
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"i was really hoping they would find her alive or at least have some closure if she died, but you just-kinda got let go. it pissed me off"
It bothered you and pissed you off? What the *beep* do you think it felt like for those who actually went through the whole bloody nightmare?
People went on holiday and came home alone - without their familiy members who they were forced to leave behind, not knowing anything of their fate. They have to go on for the rest of their lives in uncertainty and pain, but I can surely see how that is nothing compared to the inconsideration of letting you watch the thing from the safety of your couch. Poor little you, not knowing what happened to a fictional character in a movie about one of the biggest natural disasters in a century.
Maybe you would have felt differently had you actually known anyone who were lost back then. Maybe if you didn't think so much about how you suffer from the experience of a simple movie, but more about how people actually cope with their losses.
Remarks like yours terrify and disgust me.
I think his comment meant he was hoping they would find closure. I'm no judge, but perhaps that was kind of an over-reaction. I don't know, maybe you were emotional when you wrote your response, or got caught in the heat of the moment, but I don't think he was trying to offend anyone.
Alright guys, I'm not Mr. Super Patriot, but please, us Americans aren't always about the happy endings. Of course more films tend to have closure in some sort of uplifting way, but its not all happy jolly endings. Calling American cinema dribble seems a bit to much, but hey, America's freedom of speech is a wonderful thing.
I think this film, for it's purpose, potrayed things in a realistic way, and I can't imagine what some of these men, women, and children went through. I was only able to watch it once, and have to turn it off everytime it comes on, cause it's way to depressing. A very moving movie.
I'm just wondering, since I didn't get to see the entire show and all, but when the dad (forgot his name) got on the back of the truck and he asks people if they have seen his daughter and one guy says that he did see a girl who had dark skin and a pink swimsuit on the other truck. I was kinda shocked to read your comments and find out that their baby probably died. Was she injured really bad when she rode the truck or something? Or was it another girl?
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