Summit Entertainment has just released the first video trailer for the new movie, ‘The Impossible‘. Filmed entirely in Thailand, it tells the story of how one family survived the Asian tsunami that hit Thai beaches during the Christmas holidays in 2004.
The tsunami hit on December 26th, killing over 300,000 people in the Asia Pacific region. Around 10,000 died in Thailand – mainly Thais, but several thousand foreign tourists died as well.
The Impossible is based on a true story and is about a British family who goes on vacation to a beach resort in Thailand for Christmas. Everything is as beautiful and lovely as it always is at any Thai beach resort — until the tsunami hit. The film then shows what happened in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami, as they scramble to find each other when they’re separated by the gigantic waves.
Of course, The Impossible is already getting criticism and I can see why.
My thought is I won’t see it as it seems to be nothing more than a movie that’s cashing in on the temporary suffering one family on holiday in Thailand experienced. The permanent suffering of those families who did lose loved ones during the tsunami, as well as the Thais who lost businesses, homes. family members and everything they possessed is much more tragic.
To add insult to injury, the film studio is also releasing the movie in early December, to cash in on the anniversary of the tsunami at the end of the month.
While it is nice to see an international movie being filmed in Thailand (it was filmed on Khao Lak and Koh Phi Phi), with all the money that brings to the country, it’s a pity it was due to this subject matter.
The Impossible stars Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts, and will open in movie theaters on December 8th.
I don’t imagine the movie doing very well in Thailand, as Thais don’t tend to enjoy seeing movies about mass tragedies, or those that don’t put their country in such a good light.