The Impossible takes on the seemingly impossible task of retelling the tale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. This is the story of a natural disaster that killed well over 200,000 people and devastated multiple countries. It is told through the true experience of one family (English in the movie, Spanish in real life), beginning with their arrival to Phuket several days before the tsunami.
This is perhaps the first “natural disaster” movie to have earned the right to be referred to as a “film.” It portrays the awesome terror of nature without resorting to thrills. It documents the trials of one family without forgetting the magnitude of the tragedy. It is tastefully made and pays respect to the victims and survivors of the tsunami.
We live in an age of action flicks, natural disaster epics and torture-porn slashers that one after another try to deliver us bigger and bigger hits of shock and amazement. Whether due to desensitization or the fact that Hollywood has forgotten how to build tension, even the most elaborately conceived scenes rarely get the slightest rise out of audiences these days. This is not the case with The Impossible. It is a physically and emotionally terrifying film. It is at times extremely graphic. It is at times extremely moving. You will probably cry, and you will definitely leave the cinema feeling distressed.
I have no clue how the Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona recreated the tsunami so well. Only for a fraction of a second did the special effects fail to convince me. This is all the more impressive because (1) he couldn’t obscure effects with darkness since the tsunami hit during broad daylight and (2) to my pleasant surprise, he kept the shaky-cam to a minimum.
While Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor are the big names on the poster, Tom Holland has both the starring role and the best performance as their oldest son, Lucas. Dialogue and subtlety don’t feature highly in the film, but the cast does a superb job of communicating the raw vulnerability that nature forces out of humans. This is no easy task, and most natural disaster movies resort to humor instead of attempting it.
Some of the cinematography in The Impossible would never have made it into a Hollywood production. I say this in praise. Bird’s-eye view shots pull away slowly to reveal masses of debris and body bags, reminding us that this is not the story of just one family. A nightmare scene features a stunning slow-motion shot and underwater shot backlit by the sun.
The movie is not perfect. Some of the acting by bit characters took me out of the moment. One of the most emotional scenes in the movie features an awkward cut, though admittedly this was due to life not always mimicking art. The foreshadowing in the opening sequence does a disservice to the rest of the movie’s realistic treatment of the grim reality of nature. Some of the coincidences seem too improbable to be true, but again since this is based on a true story; I have to assume that these events actually happened.
The Impossible will no doubt be controversial in Thailand and other countries that experienced the tsunami firsthand. The tsunami is still fresh in the memory of everyone in this region. The damage is still visible. The survivors are still around us. The victims have not been gone long. Before I saw the movie I questioned how, why and if such a movie should be made. I don’t think I would be able to watch it twice, but having seen it, I can say I’m happy that The Impossible made it to the screen.
