The Impossible [Blu-ray]

I decided to watch “The Impossible” largely to see Naomi Watts’ performance, for which she was nominated as Best Actress by the Motion Picture Academy, Screen Actors’ Guild, Golden Globes and numerous critics groups. I realized that with the subject matter being the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia this would be a serious film. Still, I wasn’t quite ready for a film of such intensity and one that drew me in to a state of absolute and total involvement. It’s rare to find a film with this much power and for me it was quite an experience.Not only is the entire cast excellent but the director made the right choices throughout. Most directors would have gone for spectacle, focusing on the massive devastation caused by the waves using lots of CGI to create a monumental scene of destruction. This would usually take place after a great deal of setting up numerous characters in a superficial way and the depiction of the wave would be the real reason to see the film.. In other words, a typical disaster movie with a lot of uninvolving crowd scenes.. Instead, director J.A. Bayona focuses on a single family consisting of the parents and three boys and stays almost entirely with them throughout.The family is introduced on the plane and at the resort without a great deal of fuss. They have a few issues but fortunately they are not presented as wildly dysfunctional or involved in family drama. They’re just a family. The film is not about a dysfunctional family finding each other’s value in a crisis but rather about simple survival.After the scene is set the tsunami occurs. The event unfolds suddenly, violently and so realistically that you might think you are seeing the real thing. (I’ve seen a long documentary using many videos taken during the event by those involved in it and the film captures much of what it looked like). The family gets split up and for a long spell it’s mostly the mother, Maria (Naomi Watts) and oldest son Lucas (Tom Holland) who looks about twelve.I can’t say enough good things about both of them. This must have been a very difficult thing to film, and acting in such circumstances, with multiple takes and all, must have been an ordeal for the actors. Not only are they good, they’re totally convincing in their absolute alarm and total concern for each other. With camera closeups, underwater photography and incredibly good sound, you feel you are really there and not just watching a movie. Amid the motion and chaos there are tender moments as well as harrowing ones and since it is based on a true story there’s no sure sense of who will or will not survive. Naomi Watts deserved her many nominations for simply being able to survive the physical circumstances of playing her role but she also deserved it for doing it so realistically and well.Here I must note what an actor Tom Holland is. He’s now very popular as the new Spiderman and though I’ve seen the Marvel Avengers films, much of his screen time is CGI bouncing about and uttering quips. I wondered if there was actually anything to him. He is absolutely amazing in this film, a real find. He has an unexpected depth of feeling and can communicate a great deal with a single look. Just watch his face as he sees his mother, his usual caretaker, seriously injured, half naked and dazed in the water. It the true face of panic at a world turned upside down. And he’s this good throughout the entire film. Usually a kid like this will be in the film to elicit audience sympathy for a few harrowing moments. But here, he becomes the film’s central character for a considerable time. It seems almost mad for a director to let a kid carry this much of a serious film but Holland manages to pull it off. I hope the superstardom in Marvel films doesn’t ruin him somehow.That is almost the entire first half of the film. After that, the film centers on the father, Henry (Ewan McGregor) trying to find his family. This is also very well done as he wanders from one place to another. It’s not quite as powerful as the first part, but the first part is like practically nothing else I’ve ever seen where the second half feels more like a movie. The secondary actors have very small roles with the notable exception of a gentle, almost wistful, cameo with one of the boys by Geraldine Chaplin. The director stays focused on the family members but has a nice technique of having the camera suddenly rise up from a close scene to pan the larger scene of chaos in which they are but a small part.This is all presented in a matter of fact way. Injuries and blood look very real and can induce squeamishness, but of course this is not a gore fest, and the realistic injuries only drive home the great suffering caused by the tsunami and the serious predicament of the characters. Some people have said the score gets a little too loud or manipulative at times and at times I did notice it but overall it’s effective and nothing to really quibble about in a film this good.There has also been some complaining about the family being English rather than Thai or Spanish (the actual family is from Spain and the mother, Maria Belon, helped with the screenplay). This is not the case of a 1930s film where white Americans play Asian or other ethnic roles. Though basically an independent film, it was very expensive to realistically create the wave and a whole region in a state of destruction. Most indie films can be made for under ten million dollars. The budget for this film was 45 million, a gigantic amount for a non-big studio film by a Spanish director. To get the financing needed you have to have bankable internationally-known actors and there simply aren’t any Spanish or Thai actors with a big enough international following. This is not a case of simply using English or American actors out of habit or unconcern for authenticity.The film was shot mostly in Thailand and in fact parts were shot in the actual location of Phang Nga and the rebuilt Orchid Beach Hotel where the family stayed and at the actual hospital shown in the film. Some of the survivors shown in the film, both Thai and European, were people who had actually survived the tsunami. Director Bayona went to great lengths to make the film as real as possible.The film did extraordinarily well. Playing a more or less indie-circuit in the U.S. it grossed 19 million, a decent amount at that level. But internationally it did much better, grossing 180 million (including U.S.). I do think it could have had a better title. “The Impossible” sounds like it could be about practically anything and doesn’t convey any image to the public. If I saw the title in the paper or online I might have thought it was about magic or something like that.

The Impossible is a story of survival. Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts along with their kids which includes a young, pre-Spider Man Tom Holland, are on vacation in Thailand when the country is hit by a tsunami. They are split up and have to deal with the elements while they try to find each other. There are some harrowing and graphic moments like when Watts is walking in the aftermath with a chunk of her leg hanging off. Other times there’s desperation like when Watts and Holland are separated and they focus upon Holland screaming for his mom. The effects are well done as well because Watts eventually looks like a zombie she’s so beat up. Another time they show what she went through when the tsunami hit and it’s insane.

Powerful film! Hard to believe such a life changing disaster took place almost 24 yrs ago. The movie got into all the tight spots that I as a viewer had not even thought of when this disaster occurred. Even knowing the length of time that passed it was still a tug at the heart. survival of the family, pain and suffering all in 1 big swoop. Very sobering and well worth the watch.

What a great movie! So sad for those who lost their lives. And so thankful this family survived and continues to support tsunami survivors!

One if the best Movies I have ever watched

****************SPOILER ALERTS***************I feel I can't write anything better than what has already been written here here but I will give my opinion of what I took away from this movie.This is the true story of a family on vacation in Thailand over the Christmas holiday, 2004. This is an upper class family of five (parents Maria and Henry, and three sons, Lucas, the oldest at around 12, Thomas, next at around 6 or 7, and Simon maybe 4 years old). They are staying at what appears to be a 5 star ocean front resort. On December 26, the day after Christmas, as all five are enjoying themselves at the pool. Maria opts to relax and read a book, while enjoying the antics of her "boys."The impossible happens so quickly, nobody has time to gather family members let alone try to get to safety. One minute Maria was standing by a glass wall retrieving some pages of a book which had been caught up in an unexpected strong breeze. As she picks up the pages, she stops, listens and KNOWS something is wrong. As the waves cascaded over the front of the resort and finally hit the pool area, all she could do was scream for her husband and children before being picked up and swept crashing through the window, through every kind of manmade and natural pieces of things smashed by the water.This is probably every person's nightmare. What I would like to try to convey to you that touched me so deeply in this movie was, first of all the realism that at times was excruciating to watch. I had thought that Maria would have been at the heart and soul of this tragic event replayed for us to see what mayhem can lay around the corner for any of us. But it was Thomas whose story became central as he found his mother in the initial incoming mess and literally saved her life. This young boy was exposed to a terrifying event at such a young age and proved to be a leader, a caretaker, a sleuth and ultimately the tie that pulled the family back together in the midst of chaos.I have read much about that tsunami, and judging by the fact that the water at their resort became shallow quickly, they were at the edge of this catastrophe. Even so, this movie made far more real, to me, the events as they took place over the next 24 hours. Yes, some scenes were difficult to watch and I cried a lot throughout it. But at the very heart of this movie, as this well off family is reduced to the level of the poorest native, was the intense kindness conveyed by many who made this same journey (not all were kind, though, and happily, Maria Belon, who takes story credit, chose not to dwell on the negative, but to let the shining light of who we can be to each other as humans, experiencing a horrific event at the same time).I am glad I watched this movie. Happy to see there is yet hope for humanity despite the things going on around us today. There were no heroes, no take charge fixer, just a lot of people trying to stay alive and find their loved ones. Let me take that back. There were many, many heroes that day, but today we will never know their names. I have one quibble with the movie which I have debated whether to drop a star or not. At the very end, when they were flown to better facilities, they flew in a rather large, empty jet. I was left wondering why, with what looked like tens of thousands of people left in sweltering heat, many with still bleeding injuries, many wearing torn clothing and no shoes. It seemed to me that this family was the type to at least try to see if others needed a lift. Perhaps they did and it didn't fit in the movie.I highly recommend this movie if you just want a good look at humanity in chaos and how people behaved. For me, it was uplifting and hopeful. I wish the Belon family long and happy, blessed lives. For it was nothing short of a miracle, it was nearly impossible that they made it out, all five, as an intact family with mostly treatable injuries. This story opened my eyes to the many other catastrophes that seem to be taking place more and more today. It left me wanting to be involved in somehow helping people in each instance. I won't soon forget The Impossible. It left an indelible mark on my heart.

This was an overwhelming situation this family and many others went through in this disaster. I've never seen this type of disaster depicted in a movie before but I felt this movie described what happened perfectly. It drew me in and I felt so much compassion for all who endured this. It was truly a miracle that anyone survived. Ewan, Naomi, and the children played their parts so well. I can't think of anything bad about this movie. I'm glad I watched it. That was a loving family determined not to give up. Watch it. You won't regret it.

Great movie !!!!

Was a blue ray disk and also in a different language.

Closely based on the real events and almost miraculous reunion of the Belón family, as a result of the Indian Ocean tsunami, The Impossible is utterly compelling from start to finish and will pluck mercilessly at your heart-strings. Whilst the family name is anglicised to Bennett (slightly strange, as this is a Spanish movie) the mother and children's names are retained. Indeed, real life mum Maria advised on the movie and became close friends with Naomi Watts. Other tsunami survivors have praised the accuracy of the movie too, so we can be reasonably satisfied that the representation of the disaster closely mirrors what happened. The tsunami itself, depicted using a mixture of miniatures and digital effects, is dramatically stunning, but this film is really about the human interest in the aftermath. Desperate survivors seeking loved ones and local citizens and authorities struggling to cope with such an unprecedented disaster, are very well depicted. You are sure to have a tear in your eye at times!A special mention to young Tom Holland, who played an absolute blinder as the stoic and pragmatic eldest son Lucas.Given the grim subject matter, it is hard to describe The Impossible as conventional entertainment. It is however, one of the most powerful, compelling and memorable movies you are likely to see.

For a disaster movie there is very little blood or gore.The family are very well to do having a luxury holiday at Christmas in Banda Aceh Indonesia.Very little build up and of course we know what is coming,very good special effects when the Tsunami strikes, but then it is all about this one family trying to get back together,never mind the thousands of other people who were killed.You know what the ending is going to be like and Ewan McGregor is very irritating wondering around in the mud.All very safe and Hollywood,nothing too nasty on show about one of the worlds biggest disasters.

The realization in this movie is very much real and disturbing as to what happened to others when disasters take place. We can't imagine how bad it is, but to see this movie you can. The story is fabulous and very powerful as to the actors thank you for showing what a lot of people suffered and went through. Making us feel what you are feeling and the cast did exactly that. A true storybased on the 2004 tsunami. Incredible courage to survive and the will to live. A family torn apart when it happened and found at the end by their belief and hope. A fantastic epic of a movie and one that is a must see for all, with drama all the way through and the suspense captures your own instinct that you must watch all of this show without moving glued to the seat. So gather up your popcorn put your feet up to see a great night of entertainment. Enjoy!

Bought this amongst other DVD's for us to watch over Christmas as there is never anything interesting on TV during the seasonal period, only repeats.Great film from start to end, and is based on a true story of what happened to one family of many who were out there on holiday when the horror hit Shri Lanka and all its population in December 2004. A well acted film , particularly the young children of the family it was based on. Special effects were excellent and also the story of each individual wondering if the family that was torn apart from the huge wave were still alive. Very touching film. Watch it, you won't be disappointed...........