Harrowing and touching film

Rating: 9/10 (11 September 2019)

2004. A family spending Christmas vacation in Thailand are split apart after a tsunami hits the place.
Director J.A. Bayona relates the gripping and gut-wrenching story at a constant pace, maintains a stark serious tone throughout, and astutely captures both the staggering beauty and brutality of nature as well as the equally startling chaos and damage wrought by a sudden catastrophe. The ace acting by the top-rate cast rates as another substantial asset: Naomi Watts totally deserved her Oscar nomination for being put through the ringer both physically and emotionally as a wounded, yet resilient mother, Ewan McGregor does terrific work as the father determined to reunite his family, Tom Holland impresses in a difficult role as the oldest son who must stay strong for his mom, and Geraldine Chaplin has a nice cameo as a kindly old woman.
Most importantly, director Bayona and screenwriter Sergio G. Sanchez wisely keep the narrative grounded in a very intimate and hence easily relatable level by putting the key emphasis on the tourist family, which in turn gives this film a considerable amount of poignancy and resonance as a moving tribute to the durable human spirit in the absolute worst of circumstances. The special effects are frightfully convincing. Kudos are also in order for Fernando Velazquez's spare score and Oscar Faura's sumptuous widescreen cinematography. The sequence with the big one occurring is downright terrifying in its ferocity. An excellent and affecting film.