"Take Care of My Babies"

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2013)

Few films manage to capture a story of devastation without stumbling into clichéd, sappy moments, but The Impossible—the newest film by director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage)—holds its head above water to deliver a visually beautiful and emotionally captivating feature.
The Impossible recounts the true story of a Spanish (British in the film) family caught amidst the colossal devastation of the 2004 tsunami that ravaged Thailand. Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry (Ewan McGregor) Bennett are enjoying a holiday at a picturesque beach resort with their three young boys: Lucas (Tom Holland), Thomas (Samuel Joslin), and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast). The family's vacation is interrupted by a massive wave that separates the family, and causes massive destruction throughout the mainland.
The film's main focus is Maria—embodied perfectly by Naomi Watts—and the struggle she must bear with her eldest son, Lucas. When the family is torn apart, Maria and Lucas must travel through the wreckage, seeking shelter. While the entire cast provide brilliant performances (McGregor never ceases to amaze.), it is Watts and Holland who display the pinnacle of emotional fortitude. Sergio G. Sánchez, who penned the screenplay, demonstrated his ability to craft an engaging relationship dynamic between a mother and her child in Bayona's previous film, The Orphanage, and the emotional dependence he creates between Maria and Lucas is astounding.
The film is a spectacle of chaos. When the tsunami strikes the beach, the magnitude of the impact is personalized through Naomi Watts' point of view. After she is delivered from the ocean's turmoil, Bayona pulls back, revealing the shear scale of the devastation. All that is visible lies in utter ruin. The scope of this event is frightening, and Bayona does not shy away from his material. The 2004 tsunami was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history, and this is respectfully envisioned by Bayona. Though the storyline concentrates chiefly on the Bennetts, the audience retains a sense of the desolation visited upon this community.
The Impossible is a shocking film. Bayona manages to capture some riveting images, thrusting the audience directly into the horror of a natural disaster. Through this particular family, Bayona displays the necessity of human solidarity, the power of physical and emotional pain, and the joy of deliverance. This is the first movie I watched this year where I was unable to take notes while viewing it; my attention was consistently on the screen. The film is severe in its presentation of devastation, but enthralling in its display of human resilience.
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