12 Best Natural Disaster Movies Of All Time

Another extraordinary film based on a true story that is equally powerful and impactful, and incredibly deserving of being on top of this list. The film tells the remarkable true story of a French family(who for some reason are portrayed here as British) who find themselves in the path of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami while holidaying in Phuket, Thailand.

There was a degree of criticism of this film on the grounds of 'whitewashing', concentrating on one family who survived rather than the thousands of Thais who didn't. Anyone who has seen the film will know that this criticism is both unfair and unwarranted, as the remarkable survival of the Bennett family is always played out firmly within the context of those who didn't survive.

There are a tonne of heartbreaking moments here, with sequences featuring rooms full of orphaned children and others featuring a seemingly infinite number of bodybags never letting the viewer forget the tragedy that occurred. But this is also a beautiful tale of the human spirit and the remarkable feats people will go to in the assistance of others in spite of their own suffering.

A perfect example of this is a moment when Maria Bennett, portrayed by Naomi Watts in a career best performance, is brought to a hospital by Thai locals. Despite losing all their possessions, their only concern is the wellbeing of a white tourist they had never previously met. It is truly inspirational stuff and a reminder that humans deep down are inherently good.