It demands our surrender to its bold-stroking energy, its characters, its film-making, and above all its tear-jerking take of survival, humanity, and hope.

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2013)

"The Impossible" is one of those movies that will move you to tears. Not necessarily just from sadness, but for hope and humanity. Based upon a true story during the horrific disaster in Thailand eight years ago, this movie follows the journey of a family that is torn apart and forced to both survive and look for one another in the face of impossible odds. Naomi Watts plays the mother, Ewan McGregor the father, and their sons are played by Tom Holland (Lucas), Samuel Joslin (Thomas), and Oakie Pendergast (Simon).
Juan Antonio Bayona crafts this film intelligently and with confidence. For the first ten minutes, he creates an earthly paradise for this family—a nice hotel room with a view of the beach, a flying lantern contest at night, and a swell swimming pool to attend. Then, the wind starts to blow violently and the ground shakes. Thunderous sounds of water, people's heads turna tidal wave crashes through the hotel, tossing debris and people around like toys—ultimately separating this family. The next hour of the film centers on the mother and her eldest son Lucas as they try to survive through the elevated water and disaster. Fortune eventually seeks them at a hospital. The second half of the film focuses on the father's perspective as he tries to find and unite the rest of his family. The conclusion is predictable, yet the performances and the filmmaking quality not only puts us on the edge of our seats, but also draws us into the emotions and traumas of these characters.
The actual disaster sequence is short, but told only from the character's viewpoint. There is no wide shot like in "Hereafter" where the film shows a flood washing away buildings and people alike. This does not mean that there aren't any visual effects. There are used sparingly and are very impressive—like "Titanic," it is frightening to watch as water overwhelms the characters in a scene. No movie could ever fully capture what really happened, this movie certainly peers into the gates of this hell and devastation. The sound effect designers do a phenomenal job of emphasizing the terror of the tsunami as well as the more subtle scenes. I can close my eyes and picture exactly what is happening on the screen.
What really succeeds in this movie is the cast. Each actor makes the character their own and they display a versatility range of emotions. Many people, especially fellow Hollywood actors have praised Naomi Watts' performance as Oscar-worthy. She is a true genius. When it comes to expressing pain look no further than her role in "21 Grams." Here, she combines both agony and hope into a solid mixture. One scene that particularly comes to mind is when her character is alone with her son Lucas. He goes on, ranting the rest of their family is dead. The look on her face in this moment is beyond words to describe. While Watts is worthy of a gold statue, Ewan McGregor gives an equally compelling performance. Unlike Watts, his character drove me to tears, especially when he makes a phone call to his folks at home. Tom Holland stands out the most. He starts as a typical preteen adolescent, but grows larger-than-life as he overcomes perilous obstacles and helps bring other people together. Some accolades for his performance would be amicably. Sam Joslin and Oakie Pendergast are adorable as the younger kids and they do a great job.
After seeing this movie, it is safe to say that this is one of 2012's best movies. It demands our surrender to its bold-stroking energy, its characters, its film-making, and above all its tear- jerking take of survival, humanity, and hope.