SPANISH film-maker Juan Antonio Bayona’s film of Maria Belon’s book telling how her family endured on Boxing Day, 2004, is a testament to human compassion and courage.

Ewan McGregor plays Henry married to Maria (Naomi Watts). They have three sons, Simon, 5, Thomas, 7, and Lucas, 11. For my money, the three boys are the film’s principal characters even ahead of Oscar nominee Watts who anchors the plot as a mother whose injuries and determination offer great strength.

We first see Lucas as a domineering, selfish eldest brother. It strikes me that those qualities have been written into the screenplay to heighten their transient nature. Because when Maria is fighting for her life in an overcrowded hospital where teams of Thai nurses and doctors are struggling to impose order on chaos that would have been unimaginable had it not been so real on the day, it is Lucas whose energy and selfless determination becomes the film’s main element. Tom Holland’s performance in the role is already gaining peer recognition in several award nominations.

The film inevitably makes powerful emotional demands on its audience. Its supporting cast of Thai villagers toiling to deliver help is memorable, especially the dignified old man who sets the injured Maria on her journey to recovery.

At all cinemas