Jump to content

Phuket Tsunami Film ' The Impossible' Drawing In Crowds, But No Criticism


webfact

Recommended Posts

Had I not been traditionally drunk on Xmas day and had our travel agent been less conniving we would have been on Patong Beach instead of at breakfast (also with streaky bacon) in Karon. The water stopped 100 metres away and the first we knew of the Tsunami were the hordes of bloodied people streaming past the windows heading up into the hills.

Later that evening we drove into Patong and took photos of the hotel we had booked - it looked worse than the one in the movie - obliterated by sand and cars smashed through the 2nd floor walls/windows.

That night we watched football as usual, had beers as usual and it wasn't until back in Bangkok we were able to take stock of our missing friends and colleagues - so i was completely unprepared for the strong feelings the movie invoked in me. The memories of the looting, the angry locals blaming us, the waiting in the hills, the lack of Phuket to Phuket phone calls and the general feeling of despair, desperation and survivor's guilt had all been buried deep I guess and I wish I'd watched the movie with mates and booze rather than alone with those thoughts/feelings...

The mates you need, the booze you can really do without. After 8 years, our feelings of this terrible event are obviously very raw. I too remember a Thai lady blaming farangs for their misfortune and our "haram" ways. At the time I didnt understand I put it down to shock, later I found out she was muslim and did not approve of the way Thailand had become a drinking, whoreing paradise for westerners.

I have no problem making a film about it, but lets get it right, we do need to remember those who passed too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back when this film was first being discussed (long before the release) there was some PC chatter that this film was offensive because it's focused on rich white people's experience of the tsunami rather than the "third world people" it mostly hit (especially in Indonesia).

Hmmmm. Producers fund films to make money, and they probably thought there would be a better return on a film that the prospective audience would want to see.

Maybe an Indonesian or Thai film company can tell the story from their perspective.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now they make film about it, like its entertainment.

If only you could see what I have seen with my own eyes, you would not be saying a story needs to be told, you would supress the memories and bury them deep inside you.

The movie is not "entertaining" nor do I think it was intended to be. Movies have always been made about horrible events. Those who experienced those events first hand should probably not go see them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I enjoyed the movie. Do I need to feel guilty about that? I don't think so.

Depends why you enjoyed it.

Because it was professionally made, good acting, good directing, good story line, good light/sound.

I agree but it was not a great movie exactly. It was mostly about engineering an emotional response in predictable ways.

I finally saw the fim on DVD. Glad I didn't waste the money on a cinema ticket. Thought it not well made and lacking in emotion.

Agree about engineering an emotional response, as they did all the usual cliches- seen it all before, and done better.

They should have done more on establishing the family to develop an emotional bond, but they remained two dimensional cardboard cutouts to the end. Not one of Ewan's better films.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the story needs to be told................

Me and my Wife, were eating breakfast at the Amari in Patong Beach at 9am. I was particulary annoyed with the amount of effort required to obtain such a small amount of meat from the streaky bacon.

Contrary to popular belief there was no screaming, the tide went out and I heard a waiter say to another guest, winter low tide, when it comes back it, the surfers from Austrailia will be out.

An hour later the water came back and didnt stop at the shoreline, it kept coming in, spilling over every obstacle and taken it away with it deeper into land.

If you kow where the Amari is, then you know it is on a hill, no-one at the hotel died on the premises but plenty of guests did not return. Suitcases left abandoned.

By the time, anyone knew what was happening the bodies were floating bloated in the water, some were missing limbs, Thais, French, British who cares, these were human beings.

While in Thailand, I felt nothing, I was numb, it wasnt until I got to "UK border" at Manchester Airport and a immigration officer asked me where I had come from and then she asked was I alright, did I just break down and cry (in front of everyone).

For months I felt guilty that I had survived unscathed, while people who were on my flight and stayed at my hotel, eaten at the same restuarant as me died. It made me feel like I had been left behind and it took a long time to set those feeling aside.

Now they make film about it, like its entertainment.

If only you could see what I have seen with my own eyes, you would not be saying a story needs to be told, you would supress the memories and bury them deep inside you.

No doubt, the Thais wont benefit much from this blockbuster as per usual.

I remember standing around a TV in the streets of Bangkok watching the sickening scene of people throwing themselves off of the Twin Towers shortly before they collapsed and somebody making a joke about Hollywood scrambling around to sign the move rights and thinking what a disgusting and stupidly frivolous thought that was to have, and how the lives of the people so terribly affected on that day should never be reduced to entertainment with a bag of popcorn. Of course it didn't take long before they were. For me, even after years of passing, i still find the thought of making entertainment out of the worst day of some people's lives in such bad taste.

Anyway, thanks for telling your story and hope the emotional scars you must be carrying don't weigh you down too much.

RIP all those who died.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.




×
×
  • Create New...