Impossible not to cry

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2013)

The Impossible is the incredible true story of the Belón family who are vacationing on this beautiful resort in Thailand along with their 3 boys: a 12 teenager named Lucas, another 7 ½ and a 5 year old. They wake up the morning after Christmas ready to enjoy another beautiful day at the beach resort when disaster strikes. The first few minutes after the giant waves come crashing down palm trees, cars, debris, people and everything in their path, I kept clutching onto the armrests bracing for impact. Even after seeing Hereafter and Tsunami: The Aftermath, including the real footage from that fateful day, the horrible images from the tsunami still send chills down my spine. Not only do I have to endure seeing people disappear under the waves but then I get a look under water which is even more frightening than what's afloat. If you've ever been dragged by a giant wave while boogie boarding then you can just imaging what that felt like and multiply it by a hundred and you'll begin to understand how your body gets crushed, mutilated, scraped under the violent current underwater. No detail is spared in The Impossible and, as much as you try to look away, the noise of desperation deafens you and you just can't help but feel helpless. Both Maria (Naomi Watts) and her oldest son Lucas try to hold onto each other against the violent waves. Here lies the heart of the movie and the unforgettable struggle to survive is what drives this movie, gets a hold of the audience and doesn't let go. The images are so real that I felt as if I was being hit by the waves and the debris that they carry within. What director Juan Antonio Bayona accomplished with this recreation of the devastation that unfolds with the most powerful tsunami recorded in modern history is unparalleled. What's more unparalleled is the miracle that Henry (Ewan McGregor) and his 2 youngest sons have also survived miraculously the first impact of the tsunami and are now in search for Maria and Lucas which is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I believe that Naomi Watts's Maria really held on to life for her oldest son since they had lost faith in seeing the rest of the family. Lucas confronts her mother and tells her, without hesitation, that they're all dead and they only have each other to survive. As hard as it is to accept, she must accept that her son may be right and she sort of make him in charge since her condition gets worse by every moment. Lucas (played by Tom Holland) must make the decisions that would either save them or cost their lives so he must grow up and fast. Luckily they are found by villagers that take them to safety.