"The Impossible": Real Miracles From Devastating Loss

Disaster films have the difficult task of creating a balance between the visual effects to depict massive catastrophes, and the necessary human story to connect with the audience. Many times this balance is not achieved, and the tone of such films is undefined. Some rely heavily on the shock value of the destruction exposed on screen, forgetting to give us a reason to care for the characters. James Cameron's Titanic became such an iconic film because it encompassed the astonishing chaos of the sinking ship and a heartfelt story between two unlikely lovers. Without empathy for the victims then the disaster itself becomes irrelevant.

Most of these films are crafted from hypothetical stories of what could happen e.g. The Day After Tomorrow, Armageddon, Independence Day. Usually futuristic story lines in which there is always a way to prevent the imminent from occurring. This is when the new film by  Spanish director J.A. Bayona has an edge. The Impossible is based on the unimaginable true events that a Spanish family experienced during the 2004 mega-tsunami in Southeast Asia. The fact that, according to Bayona an scriptwriter Sergio G. Sanchez, everything on screen really happened to the real life characters, makes the film even more heartwrenching and memorable. Using a mixture of innovative, one-of-a-kind special effects technologies, with CGI and miniature models; the film is truly a fantastic accomplishment. It recreates the events with such clarity and sensorial accuracy, the viewer is immerse in  this turmoil, saturated with raw emotion, inevitably moving.

In the film the Spanish family is replaced by an English one. Probably Bayona's only choice to secure financing for the film and an A-list cast. The family is formed by Henry (Ewan McGregor), Maria (Naomi Watts), oldest son Lucas (Tom Holland) , Thomas (Samuel Joslin), and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast). They arrive in Thailand a couple days before Christmas in 2004 to enjoy the exotic vistas, ancient festivals and tropical weather; as many other western tourist in the region. On December 26th, as the family is enjoying a day at the pool in their beach side hotel, the most atrocious tsunami in recorded history hits the coast, and rises enormous waves that ravage, and nearly erased the landscape of a great part of the Southeast Asian coasts. In the midst of such madness the family is separated but manages to survive. Maria and Thomas are forced to fight for their life despite their injuries and the horrific experience they endured. Relying on their own perseverance they manage to be get the severely injured Maria to a hospital. Meanwhile Henry and the other boys, unaware of the fate of their loved ones, search restlessly to find any clues on their whereabouts. One family's quest to reunite speaks of the disaster as a whole, and the unbreakable quality of the human spirit. It is cinema at its most powerful, visceral, emotionally affecting, beautifully heartbreaking, and real.

For the first time ever in my movie-going experience, I heard people sobbing, and tearing while the film played. Uncontainable emotions that are the result of the great craft and honesty with which Bayona, his cast and crew, created this movie. The special effects that immerse you into such powerful and violent force of nature, and the flawless performances that likewise make you a witness of the strength that the will to live has in all of us. First off, Naomi Watts as Maria, delivers the performance of her career. As a mother that is at once vulnerable and broken, but still fiercely refuses to lose her dignity and humanity in the middle of such adversity. Brutally injured and broken she must still set an example of compassion for her oldest son by rescuing a lost infant, and being humbly grateful to the locals that help her. Naomi Watts is raw, and every bit believable, never wallowing in the daunting circumstances but restrained, when the emotions are finally let out it its to say the least, powerful. It would be a shame that such a performance is ignored by the upcoming award nominations, but in her own right Watts has shown a different and profound character that aims to portray  a real life mother in the same situations. She loses all glamour, banal concerns, or generic acting conventions to leave a piece of herself on the screen, just remarkable. An Oscar contender undoubtedly.

The rest of the cast deserves very well earned praise. Ewan McGregor becomes a father with a mission, battling against all odds to find the other half of his family; while remaining strong for his two smaller children. He makes the difficult decision to let them go in order to blindly search for Maria and Thomas. In a crucial scene he must call home to let his family of their disappearance, and here is when McGregor delivers and moves with tender heartbreak. Of the child actors the one that stands out is Tom Holland as the brave Lucas who relentlessly cares for his mother while helping the other victims in need, a kid that in a matter of seconds must become and adult to save his life. All these amazing actors are helped by the splendid direction of Bayona, who blends his surreal devastation sequences and vistas, with the tragical story of the triumph of the human spirit. A respectful tribute to the lives of the survivors and the victims. Shot on location with real survivors as extras, and utilizing the most realistic practical effects possible, The Impossible is a knockout of a film. Impossible to believe something like this happened in real life, and almost impossible to think this family's miraculous ordeal.

An experience that is hard to shake once the film is done but one that must be cherish as it reminds us of what the essence of humanity is. That certain something that makes us thrive, love, and persevere against the most infamous of obstacles. Certainly one the most touching times I've ever had at the movies. Out this December just in time for Award Season. Grade A+