'Nothing is more powerful than the human spirit.'

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2013)

There are times when it takes the making visual of the devastation that occurs in nature to drive home the need for our being more aware of the suffering of our fellowmen at the hands of natural disasters around the world. Certainly THE IMPOSSIBLE achieves that. On December 26, 2004 one of the most disastrous tsunamis in history devastated portions of Thailand, killing thousands of people and destroying the landscape and lives of many more. This is the story of a Spanish family living in Japan but vacationing in Thailand and how they coped and survived this impossible natural act. Of note the entire crew that made this film is from Spain, the original title of the film is LO Impossible: María Belón shared her story which was transformed into a screenplay by Sergio G. Sánchez and the direction is by Juan Antonio Bayona. The cinematography is by Óscar Faura and the deeply moving musical score was written by Fernando Velázquez. For the film the family of note is British in origin but even their British background is secondary to the omni-national impact of the story.
A regular family - Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three children Lucas (a brilliant performance by Tom Holland), Simon (Oaklee Pendergast) and Thomas (Samuel Joslin) - travel to Thailand to spend Christmas in a villa on the coastline. After settling in and exchanging gifts, they go to the pool, like so many other tourists. A perfect paradise vacation until a distant noise becomes a roar. There is no time to escape from the tsunami; Maria and Lucas are swept in one direction, Henry, Thomas and Simon in another. Once the storm settles the story is the strength of character and of family and of love that is able to overcome the impossible odds that they will ever be united.
The cast of the family is excellent but there are also very fine cameo roles by Sönke Möhring who plays another father desperately seeking his lost family, Geraldine Chaplin as an old woman who comforts the boys, and many others who move in and out of the story quickly. The film approaches two hours in length and in the mid portion it becomes repetitive and in need of some editing. But in ways this adds to the incredible sense of tolerance and survival of the characters. The surprise of the film, once the emotional impact begins to subside, is the brilliance of the acting of Tom Holland as Lucas, the oldest son who has inherited his mother's medical acumen and is able to help everyone around him. Watch for his career to ascend.
Grady Harp