The Impossible: Against All Odds

The Impossible is probably the most difficult movie I've watched this year. Not difficult because it's bad. But difficult because it is harrowing and gut-wrenching. Based on the true story of a Spanish family vacationing in Thailand during the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004, it starkly depicts one of the worst disasters of the 21st century.

The movie opens with Harry and Maria Belon (Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts) and their three sons on the flight to Thailand. They undergo a spot of turbulence and Maria is clearly unnerved, but they land safely. The real disaster is yet to come. The family have a happy Christmas and indulge in all the comforts their beach resort has to offer. On the 26th, they are all sprawled around the pool, when there's a sudden strong wind, birds are frantically flying across the sky, and out of nowhere, a giant wave appears.

The visual effects are stunning, probably because director J.A. Bayona made great use of miniatures and a huge water tank instead of relying on computer-generated imagery. The wave is ominous, unrelenting, and heralds all the death and destruction that is to follow. As palm trees start to fall under the tsunami, Maria screams for her eldest son Lucas, while Henry grabs his two youngest sons under his arms. In a few seconds, the tsunami is upon them; Henry helplessly ducks into the depths of the pool, while Maria hugs herself and braces for impact. The screen goes dark.

What follows is a swirl of confusion and terror. Maria is buffeted in muddy water that is sweeping her along a completely unrecognizable landscape. She is being battered on all sides by debris, and in one sickening moment, a branch tears into her leg. Miraculously, she manages to stick her head above water and she sees Lucas hanging on to a tree. Mother and son frantically call out to each other as they are being swept away in the flood, but after a nail-biting series of maneuvers, they manage to cling on to each other. As the waters recede, they find themselves alone in an alien world.

Tom Holland, who plays Lucas, is a revelation, turning in a performance that ought to have earned him multiple Best Supporting Actor awards. Naomi Watts fully deserves a Best Actress nomination; she goes through hell and back in this movie. Maria and Lucas try to walk to safety, a prospect that proves increasingly difficult due to Maria's injured leg. Finally, some locals find them and drive her and Lucas to the hospital, where she receives some treatment amid scenes of chaos and confusion. Even in this uproar, Maria insists that Lucas try to help others, so he runs off and aids strangers who are looking for their loved ones in this sprawling hospital. When he returns to his mother's bed, she has disappeared.

In the meantime, Henry and his two younger sons have also miraculously survived the tsunami. When a truck arrives to take them to higher ground, Henry makes the difficult decision to send his sons to safety while he remains behind to search for Maria and Lucas. Ewan McGregor offers an incredible performance of a man who is trying his best to keep it together for his children while he is increasingly convinced that his wife and son are dead. His desperate search seems futile and heartbreaking, but other survivors help him out and he eventually arrives at the same hospital as Maria.

Bayona and writer Sergio G. Sanchez have crafted a story that lets us celebrate one family's survival over incredible odds while still mourning the numerous losses of other families and the unimaginable havoc wreaked by this natural disaster. Ultimately, The Impossible is a powerful and devastating movie that serves as a reminder of both human frailty and human strength.