In December 2004, Henry and Maria (McGregor and Watts) head to Thailand for a Christmas holiday with their young sons Lucas, Thomas and Simon (Holland, Joslin and Pendergast). Then on Boxing Day, the gigantic Indian Ocean tsunami tears through the landscape. Maria and Lucas barely manage to stay together in the torrent, while back at the resort Henry locates the younger boys. But finding each other is another challenge, especially since Maria is badly injured and they keep getting separated in the ensuing chaos of relief efforts and medical emergencies.

Director Bayona skilfully cranks up the emotion by depicting an idyllic family vacation then never pulling any punches when disaster strikes. So we feel every horrific moment along with the characters. The first-rate effects are so seamless that we feel like we're watching actual footage of the tsunami, combined with Oscar Faura's fluidly soaring cinematography. Perhaps most impressive is the make-up, which is so realistic that we want to help these wounded people who are more concerned with finding their loved ones than wiping the blood off their faces.

Through all of this, Watts and McGregor add to the bracing realism by letting us feel their characters' internal agony. And all three young actors playing their sons are clearly rising stars. In many ways, Holland is the film's anchor as a young boy whose role flips when he has to take care of his mother and rise to an unimaginable challenge. Meanwhile, Joslin is quietly brilliant as an even younger boy trying to take care of his toddler brother.

This certainly isn't a movie about plot or thematic messages: it's about the fragile tenacity of the human spirit in the face of what seems like the end of the world. The narrative exists only in the battered faces of these fine actors. Yes, it's overwhelmingly emotional, sometimes verging on the melodramatic. But we always have the sense that this particular family was extraordinarily fortunate to survive a calamity that claimed nearly 300,000 lives.

themes, violence

22.Oct.12