First-hand accounts tell harrowing story of tsunami two decades on (2024)

There are some disasters, losses of human life on a grand scale, that are just imprinted in our collective memory. Cyclone Tracy. September 11. The Bali Bombings. And the Boxing Day Tsunami.

It's the latter, now 20 years past, that draws the attention of this four-episode National Geographic documentary series.

It's a remarkable piece of documentary work, that is as truly, deeply devastating as it is unfathomable.

Tsunami: Race Against Time utilises video footage from locals and holidaymakers across south and south-east Asia in the wake of the massive earthquake that caused the fateful wave.

This footage is paired with first-hand accounts from survivors. From tourists to local police, hotel staff to mechanics, people tell their stories first-hand, and it's clear the trauma and pain of December 26, 2004 has never left them.

Everyone has stories of people they love, and where they were when the wave hit. With the documentary playing out as the wave progresses - not jumping around in time, but following the disaster chronologically - we're left to fear the fates of the interview subjects' loved ones.

It's a difficult watch, and impossible to shy away from the emotions. Most of us could never imagine the depth of fear, pain and confusion these survivors went through as they lives and family members were swept away before their eyes.

Handy illustrations demonstrate the path of the wave, striking first in Banda Aceh in Indonesia before moving on to Thailand and beyond.

It's a tough but vital documentary series to watch as we approach the 20^th anniversary of the Boxing Day Tsunami.

Joy

Netflix

There's something comforting about the predictability of a film which delves into a scientific discovery.

You know how it's going to turn out, because they wouldn't be making a film if the scientists weren't successful.

Like Radioactive before it, which covered Marie and Pierre Curie's work with radium and polonium, or Hidden Figures, which explored the women at NASA who helped get John Glenn into orbit, Joy brings us the story of a trio of very smart individuals who tried and failed for years before successfully bringing about the first ever child born from in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

We mainly follow Jean Purdy (the always delightful Thomasin McKenzie, Jojo Rabbit), a young woman who takes up a role as lab manager with Dr Robert Edwards (James Norton, Little Women) who is attempting to fertilise an egg outside the womb and then reinsert the embryo into the mother's uterus to hopefully result in a successful birth.

Jean and Robert are driven not only by the desire to make a massive scientific discovery, but also to provide couples who are struggling with infertility some hope that they too can feel the joy of parenthood.

They eventually team up with obstetrician Dr Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy, who has never been anything short of exceptional) to start working with women over a period of a decade to see their shared dream become a reality.

But it's not just scientific failures that the group have to put up with. They are constantly being harangued by media and lobbyists who feel their work goes against God. Jean, a Christian woman, feels this keenly as both her devout mother and her church turn their backs on her.

Joy is a beautiful, by-the-numbers film that explores the difficult journey leading up to the birth of IVF, and it'll bring a tear to your eye if you allow it to sweep you away.

Out of My Mind

Disney+

Get ready to cry out at this beautiful, meaningful coming of age film.

Melody (impressive young actress Phoebe-Rae Taylor) is a sixth-grader with a brilliant mind, and plenty to say, but a body that won't allow her to speak. She has cerebral palsy, a condition which has rendered her non-verbal.

She is as fiercely independent as she can be, and has a voracious appetite for learning.

However, her special education class is mixed-age, and she is intellectually far beyond most of her peers at school.

So when a plucky young education academic proposes that maybe Melody should be allowed to participate in regular sixth grade classes, she's beyond excited. Her parents, particularly her mum (Rosemarie DeWitt) take a little more convincing, as does the school administration. The transition is eased when Melody is able to secure a medi-talker - a device (think Stephen Hawking) that allows her to use a computer and audio element to share her thoughts.

There's a moment in this film where Melody's dad (a moving Luke Kirby) hears her 'talk' for the first time and breaks down. It's as tear-jerking a scene as anything from the great pantheon of tear-jerking cinema moments.

The film is very much in the vein of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, and Melody's difficulties in making friends ring particularly true to life.

Aside from being a beautiful story about finding your voice, being tenacious and knowing your worth, the film shows that people with disability have so much to offer.

If all that doesn't convince you, there's an added bonus - Jennifer Aniston provides the voice of Melody's inner monologue.

AMan on the Inside

Netflix

Michael Schur - the man behind Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place, among others - is back with another charming comedy.

A Man on the Inside is more broad in its comedic sensibility, and follows Good Place alum Ted Danson as Charles, a widowed retiree who answers a classified ad for a private detective and goes undercover in an aged care facility.

He's there to find out who's behind the theft of a client's family heirloom, but ends up embroiled in all manner of relationship drama, politics and more at the facility.

He grows closer to his own daughter as part of the mission, and develops a new lust for life.

There's plenty of appearances from faces familiar to viewers of other Mike Schur shows.