It’s difficult to forget Boxing Day of 2004 when news broke that an immense tsunami had swamped south-east Asia, taking the lives of more than 250,000 people in its course. It was a natural disaster of incomparable power and unspeakable loss. The Impossible-a true story about one family’s survival- successfully portrays the many emotions and horrors brought from such tragedy and director Juan Antonio Bayona spins the focus in on a single family caught up in the disaster, personalising the horror and bringing it home in melodramatic fashion on its very own tidal wave of emotion.
Bayona and scriptwriter Sergio G Sanchez have explored the depths of parental fear before in ‘The Orphanage’ and here they use an onslaught of the natural rather than the supernatural to create a sense of pain and terror that is no less acute. As Henry (Ewan McGregor), Maria (Naomi Watts) and their three sons Lucas (Tom Holland), Thomas (Samuel Joslin) and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast) settle into the beachfront resort in Thailand on Christmas Eve, there are shots of calm cerulean waters, lush palm trees, exotic orchids and a refreshing swimming pool in which to relax. An ordinary day by the pool turns into an almost unimaginable nightmare as the wave hits. The family are tossed around like toys as the rush of water is like a freight train and the camera’s point of view initially focuses on Maria and her oldest son Lucas as they are both submerged into soundless, murky depths. We are taken with Maria as she is pulled along the violent flow, slashed, battered and absolutely crushed along the way by debris before surfacing to a maelstrom of heart wrenching screams and being left in a landscape transformed from holiday paradise to a place from hell. It is the sort of film making that leaves your jaw open in utter amazement wondering how the hell they did it. If Maria’s pain is physical, it is nothing compared to the fear she feels as she hunts for the rest of her family. Meanwhile Henry who has been washed up elsewhere also faces the terror of not knowing what has become of his brood. Although there are many powerful scenes in this true life story, it is a lump-in-throat moment when Henry breaks down on the phone to his father in law and we see the real, raw emotion and that last bit of hope slowly being let go of.
All of the actors featured in The Impossible are stupendous but we do have to keep in mind that the real life Maria Belon and her family have been transformed into blonde and beautiful Brits with upper-class accents and a bourgeois sense of entitlement (no doubt a decision made by box office). Standing out from the rest of the cast is Naomi Watts. She chanelled raw emotion and believably portrayed her character as a broken, wounded human being who was drained physically and mentally to the point of near death. Bayona also manages to explore the horror of the story from the children’s point of view - particularly eldest son Lucas who tries to ‘man’ up for his injured mum. However, all the children seem to rise to the occasion and leave a lasting impression.
With simplicity and sincerity, The Impossible manages to be something other than a predictable disaster movie. It can be a difficult movie to watch due to the range of emotions it stirs inside you but it’s a directorial masterpiece and I am certain you will be blindsided by its touching, emotional power - as I was. It sends across a very simple message that we all too often look straight past - that love is really all you need. As you leave and go back home, you will hug your family a little tighter and appreciate those moments with them more than you ever did before.