Tsunami: The Aftermath

Did anyone else catch this on HBO Sunday night? I didn't think I'd be into in, but the stellar performances of Sophie Okonedo, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Toni Collette, immediately drew me in. The repeat of Part I in on tonight at 8pm and Part II airs Sunday night at 8pm. I'd highly recommend you watch. After Hurricane Katrina, the devestation from the tsunami will seem all too familiar (though the tsumani happened months before Katrina). Whereas Gulf Coast residents had forewarning about the approaching hurricane, there was no warning for those on the coast of Thailand. But, many factors are the same - apathetic leadership, a lack of relief coordination and a government cover-up. The echoes to Katrina are striking. For example, a young Thai is the only person to survive from his village and tries to prevent developers from swooping down to seize the land his village is built on; and a leading Thai meteorologist is forced to recant an earlier report detailing the inevitability of a tsunami hitting the area that was ignored. I was stunned during one scene in particular when the monks were burning the bodies of unidentified victims. Sophia and Chiwetel play a married British couple on vacation at a posh oceanfront resort when the disaster hits and their five-year-old daughter Martha is lost. It's worth watching just to check out their performances.