I'm not afraid to admit that there are more than a handful of films that have managed to reduce me to tears. So with that being said, "The Third Wave" is definitely a tearjerker.
The Indian Ocean earthquake/tsunami of 2004 wreaked havoc on almost all of southeast Asia, India and even parts of Africa. Its destruction was well documented, but unfortunately the relief effort wasn't as well attended to. When all was said and done, nearly a quarter million people lost their lives.
"The Third Wave" is a documentary focusing on the primary group of volunteers that showed up in Peraliya, a city in Sri Lanka, one of the countries most decimated by the tsunami. Their relief effort was, shockingly, the only one of its kind to the tiny island country. In fact, the people represented in the movie do not belong to any singular aid group, but instead are just a random group of individuals who gathered together to collaborate their efforts.
The film is broken down week by week, which reflects the slow yet persistent progression of the group's efforts. The four main volunteers are Alison, Oscar, Donny and Bruce. They make up the core of the relief operations and the documentary. Alison is actually the director of the film, and Oscar helped produce it.
All four individuals struggle to maintain a positive atmosphere amidst an air of complete and utter depression. It's equally heartwarming and heartbreaking. On one end of the spectrum, you have an entire society of people who have lost nearly everything, but on the other end, you have a group of strangers who are giving up their time and energy to help out the best they can. It's remarkable to witness how tragedies such as this elicit such personal sacrifice from individuals.
It's incredibly endearing to watch human beings taking care of one another, but at the same rate, the documentary brings up a whole host of problems that arose due to the relief efforts. For example, nearly $2 billion had been pledged to help the people of Sri Lanka and yet very little of that money ever reached the people. Astonishingly enough, some of that money was put up by certain groups in order to garner a face of goodwill, but was then selfishly pocketed.
Corruption aside, human goodwill can only go so far. The most interesting part of the film is actually when the people of Peraliya begin to turn on the volunteers. Greed and jealousy starts to set in once the victims realize money is being given directly to the most needy families. The difficulties that arise because of this misunderstanding reminded me of how delicate the human psyche is, especially in the aftermath of such a tragedy.
"The Third Wave" does such a great job of bringing the plight of the Sri Lankan people to light and, more importantly, the corruption exposed during the fundraising efforts. For a film of such importance, there is also a great deal of attention made in getting to know the volunteers. Truly, they are a very special group of individuals. I feel inspired to live my life with more selflessness and I'm confident this film will instill similar feelings in all who are lucky enough to watch it.
Do yourself a favor and share the experience of "The Third Wave" with loved ones, as it's definitely worth watching with a large group of people. I feel as if director Alison Thompson said it best, "You don't need many skills to hand out water or give someone a hug. You just need a little love and a whole lot of heart."