Lo imposible
Tags: mystery, dramatic, flashback, home movie, action, tragedy, inspiring, suspenseful, sentimental

Plot synopsis:
Henry Bennett (Ewan McGregor), his wife Maria (Naomi Watts), and their three sons Lucas (Tom Holland), Tomas (Samuel Joslin), and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast) go on a Christmas holiday in 2004 to Khao Lak, Thailand. Arriving on Christmas Eve, they settle in and begin to enjoy the brand new Orchid Beach Resort. Two days later on Boxing Day, the massive 2004 tsunami inundates the area.
Maria and Lucas eventually emerge from the swirling water and find one another, with Maria having sustained serious injuries to her leg and chest. They help a young boy, Daniel, from the wreckage and are soon found by locals who transfer them to a local hospital in the city of Takua Pa. Daniel is separated from them during the journey. At the hospital, Maria encourages Lucas to help others find their family members while she goes into surgery for her chest injuries.
Meanwhile, Henry, Thomas and Simon have also survived and are together. Henry leaves the two boys with another family who head to the mountains for safe shelter while he stays behind to search for Maria and Lucas. While out looking, injured and alone, he is picked up by a passer-by and driven to a nearby bus shelter to wait out with other survivors. Communication facilities are scarce but eventually a tourist named Karl (Sönke Möhring), who has also been separated from his family, lends Henry his cell phone to contact his relatives. Henry promises Maria's father he will look everywhere for his family and that he will find them. Karl tells the group his wife had left him a note confirming they were at the beach, their location when the wave hit. He volunteers to accompany Henry to look for Maria and Lucas and his own family, too.
While Maria is in surgery, her medical chart is mixed-up with another patient who has died. Lucas returns to find his mother's bed empty and is then taken to a tent where children without families are kept safe. The mistake is discovered when Lucas cannot identify any of the dead woman's jewelry and he is subsequently reunited with his mother who has been moved to a private room in the ICU. In the hospital while he waits, Lucas finds Daniel who has been reunited with his father.
Henry and Karl search for their families in various places before they arrive at the hospital where Henry is given five minutes to look. Karl gives him a piece of paper with his family members names on. The vehicle carrying Thomas and Simon also stops outside the hospital and the boys get off so Simon can urinate. From a distance, Lucas recognizes his father and while searching him out in the chaotic crowd outside, Lucas' siblings spot him and they reunite. Henry finds the three of them together. He learns that Maria is in the hospital ready to undergo more surgery for her leg, which she survives. Flashbacks reveal how she came to be badly injured and how she surfaced the water. While in surgery, Lucas tells his father he has something really important to tell Maria.
The following day, the family boards an ambulance airplane to Singapore so Maria may receive further medical treatment, arranged by their insurance company. On the plane, Lucas tells his mother he knows Daniel is safe. Maria looks out the window at the chaos left behind.

Review: Their solution was to deal with one British family on vacation in Thailand from Japan, but their film uses that family as a catalyst to show the tsunami's awful effect not only on the tourist population but on the local people who suffered even more.Both the film itself and the filmmakers have taken pains to say that this is a "true story," and they have aimed for the greatest possible authenticity in the circumstances.
(For example, those who tell their tales to Ewan McGregor at the bus station are almost all actual survivors.) While footage of the tsunami strike itself was shot in a water tank at Alicante on the Spanish coast, and a couple of days filming of interiors took place in Spanish studios, the remainder of this picture was shot on location in Thailand using the real places of the story, such as the Orchid Beach Hotel in Phang Nga, and the actual hospital where much of the action occurs.The actual Thai locations and the many Thai actors keep the production values superb, and give this film an authenticity it would not otherwise have.
True, she is bedridden for about half the film, but it is during this time where there are these small moments of tenderness and humility which undoubtedly makes Watts's performance one of the best of the year.In fact, the entire cast was exceptional, including Ewan McGregor, the father desperately trying to put together his family again, and the two littlest sons, Thomas, played by Samuel Joslin, and Simon, played by Oaklee Pendergast, both of whose innocence prevented them from thoroughly capturing the extent of this tragic event.
Starring Academy Award Nominee Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, the film tells the TRUE story about a family vacationing in Thailand when one of the worst natural disasters of our time separates them.In the opening credits of the film, Bayona tells the audience that the story is true, but what may bother viewers and critics is how coincidental and inflated the story can seem.
The mother, played by Naomi Watts and oldest of the three sons do their best to survive while the father, played by Ewan McGregor, juggles between the safety of his two boys and the search for his wife and missing son.Director Juan Antonio Bayona vividly shares the shocking and yet, miraculous story of the Alvarez family.
Watts delivers a strong performance as does McGregor but the stand out here, besides the cinematography, is the brilliant and mature portrayal of the oldest son by young, Tom Holland.An emotional tearjerker, The Impossible is a brilliant film, which will have you glued to the screen as you root against the odds while simultaneously fearing the worst.
Despite occurring in Asia, the Boxing day Tsunami of 2004 was truly a world event, with ripples emanating around the world as many of the 280,000 plus victims were holiday makers from all over the world.Focusing on a single family's true story, albeit changing their nationality from Spanish to English, was always going to invite accusations of filtering a tragic story through the eyes of a white privileged family, rather than the locals who lost everything.This is perhaps unfair, in the same way "Schindlers List" might be accused of focusing on those few that survived.
This is truthful, unflinching and harrowing film making.Be warned, this is no easy watch.The story centres on Maria (Naomi Watts ), her husband (Ewan Mcgregor) and three young sons, Lucas (Tom Holland), Simon (Samuel Joslin) and Thomas (Oaklee Pendergast), on holiday at a upmarket beach resort in Khao Lak.The sense of foreboding is swiftly alluded to and when the wave hits, the effect is quite breathtaking.
Whether this is "right", is a philosophical debate not likely to be resolved in a two hour movie.The acting is uniformly good, Watts gets the most to do and excels in a role that cannot have been easy from both a physical and emotional sense.
For those directly involved, is this a fitting tribute to the human spirit and kindness shown, impossible to say.Summary A natural disaster movie that is both affecting, effective and unflinching in it's depiction of a very real recent event with several notable performances.This is not for everyone, despite the focus on a white middle class family, this is no airbrushed Hollywood watered down TV movie.
A. Bayona's ten minute sequence near the beginning of the harrowing true-life survival tale, "The Impossible." With little to no CGI and using mostly scale models and a giant water tank, Bayona throws the viewers into the wave along with stars Naomi Watts (astonishing) and young Tom Holland (revelatory as Watts' son).
The rest of the cast is outstanding as well, and there's a strong humanist approach applied to depicting this wide-spread multi-national disaster.It might pull on the heartstrings a bit "too much" in some sequences, but the manipulation is apt in telling this real-life drama.Overall - an unforgettable, draining but uplifting film experience.Check out full reviews at theschleicherspin.com.
Not what I had in mind as a cheery film, but oh well....So basically we have a family that include married couple Henry and Maria Bennett (played Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts), a classic middle- class couple, as suggested by the fact they spend most their time on the plane travelling to Thailand worrying if they set the alarm to their house back in Japan, and also their three sons all string sentences together without saying ''Bruv'' or ''Innit'', so they must be Middle- Class.
The family is split in the wreckage of it all and the film then deals with them all trying ti locate each other, if they all managed to survive that is....The film was actually very good, a simple search story made gargantuan by the amazing effects used to portray the actual Tsunami, it literally comes at such a speed and power that leaves you in bewilderment and gives you a better idea that news reports of what it was all like at the time.
Sánchez from a story by María Belón and being based upon on true events , as the real family that the main characters are based on are in fact Spanish but living in Japan at the time of the Tsunami and many of the extras are actual survivors of the tsunami .
This swift wrath of nature is expertly realized, but the heart of the film is in its characters and how they respond to the betrayal of the world around them.Naomi Watts, in her career best performance, expresses the rooted emotions of a mother both physically and emotionally, filling the film with so much fearlessness and unshakable motivation, that she enraptures the audience with her survival instincts.
Tom Holland delivers one of the strongest juvenile debuts seen in years, conveying a complex series of emotions with natural serenity.The Impossible separates itself from the other disaster films by focusing not just on the scale of the mayhem, but the intimacy of the struggle.
This is a very strong, overwhelming and emotional film, I guess that the real family suffered more then they show on this film, based on real events, must have been a very difficult film to make in this case.Naomi Watts is very great at her part, a though one with physically demanding parts and a very hard role to make believable, but she definitely makes it work and gives a very fine presentation.
Also the rest of the cast have strong roles and make the film both entertaining, dramatic, heart-warming and charismatic.There are some very fascinating scenes, the Tsunami itself, the wasteland they walk through and the endless masses of people in need of attention at the hospitals.Strong film, strong cast that tells the story of this strong family that unlike many others makes it through and survives the perils..
The movie shows the true event in a touching way.Everyone knows about the tsunami through news but this movie will take you there and let you feel it.This true story actually connects you with the people undergone and who have withstood this tragedy.Though this shows story of single family with an happy ending you can still be able to imagine the grief of people who weren't so lucky after all.This real story movie gives us a perspective to live our self sufficient and blessed life happy.
Films always add a few elements to spice up the story a bit so I can't say how true this movie is to what actually happened in real life, but what I can say is that the Spanish family this film is based on is played here by a British one so there are some changes.
The imagery will remain in your head.Henry (Ewan McGregor) and Maria (Naomi Watts) travel to Thailand for their Christmas holidays alongside their three children: Lucas (Tom Holland), Thomas (Samuel Joslin), and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast).
The tsunami scene is terrifying as we see the terrible effects it had on the population, and isn't an easy watch, but it is worth it because it has an uplifting story.Naomi Watts has been receiving a lot of recognition for her work in this film, and she is truly amazing, but I thought Ewan McGregor also delivers a great performance as well and many people have ignored him.
Based on the tsunami of 2004, this film offers a look at the devastation and impact of this natural disaster through the eyes of the Belon family.This film oozes emotion through every scene; not only from the actors but the audience.
Sánchez, may never have been able to be produced had they not been able to bring in big-name stars and get the funding for spectacular special effects, so one must forget the politics and just be truly happy this story made it to the big screen at all in a form which could touch a wide audience.Naomi Watts plays Maria Bennet who, along with her son Lucas, are separated from her husband, Henry (Ewan McGregor) and her other two sons, Thomas and Simon, after the tsunami hits the resort where they were vacationing.
Unlike the other young kid that was nominated this year, Holland actually showed some actual skill in his craft and not just merely being, well, a kid.This is not to overlook excellent performances as well by an incredible strong McGregor and, yes, the two younger actors that pulled in much of the emotional weight, Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast."The Impossible" is an extraordinary journey of the human spirit.
The term "disaster movie" tends to conjure up images of campy and disposable entertainment involving killer asteroids and doomed ship voyages, so attaching it to a film like The Impossible feels wrong, considering the terrible true-life circumstances on which it's based.
Specifically, the film tells the story of the Belon family, British tourists who were separated from each other when the tsunami hit their beachside resort in Thailand on December 26th.The bulk of the film features the parallel stories of Henry (played by Ewan McGregor) and his two sons struggling to reunite with his doctor wife, Maria (played by Naomi Watts), and the couple's oldest son, Lucas (played by impressive newcomer Tom Holland).
The Impossible's frequent reliance on the youngster's point of view, coupled with the spectacle of the tsunami, also lends the film an unmistakable Spielbergian quality (you can also find it in the occasionally overly manipulative musical score).I found myself intermittently more emotionally invested with the characters than I would have expected, but The Impossible ends up feeling like little more than average entertainment with one dynamic ten minute segment.( More of my reviews at Mediaboymusings.blogspot.ca ).
I'm sorry, I understand this movie is based on the remarkable true story of a family's heroism in the wake of the devastating tsunami which hit Thailand (and other countries) on Boxing Day 2004, killing thousands, but I just wasn't moved by what I saw on the screen.Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts are barely together on screen long enough to project for the viewer any kind of meaningful relationship between them, their family of three young boys act stiltedly and unnaturally, while the dialogue is clichéd, ditto the dramatic sequences, the latter on innumerable occasions.
The director isn't above cross-cutting between scenes at key moments for dramatic effect, a Hollywood M.O. from the year dot, but the manipulation here is so blatant and ham-fisted that the film somehow failed to draw me into the human drama here.The special effects for the tsunami and Watts and her oldest boy's subsequent odyssey in the aftermath of the disaster, I found only passable, at best while McGregor's acting in particular leaves a lot to be desired, being shallow and showy by turns.
Watts has less to do, being wrapped up badly injured in a hospital bed for a large part of the running time, in fact any number of the extras were more watchable in my opinion.While I have nothing but admiration for the real-life family who somehow came through such a terrible ordeal, this formulaic, clichéd disaster movie didn't, I think, serve them well and rather ill-served its noble subject..
the tsunami scene was great, but after that, naomi watts did a good job, but i can't say anyone else did.i have no problem with the heroes being anglo - it's a movie done from a tourist's point of view.
And do not write on screen "true story" on the beginning when you put at the end "inspired by" and dedicate the last minute of the end credit (a few stand to see this!) to the personal thanks of Maria...See it as a movie, and you will enjoy your time, see it as a biography of the events and you will be disappointed.
What separates this from the long list of disaster films is that it's exceedingly well made, it's based on a true story, and it puts a young actor in a role vital to the connection with audience.The real life Belon family from Spain have for some reason been presented here (by Spanish filmmakers) as the British Bennett's with Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts (as Henry and Maria).
At times, the script just falls on its face for logical reasons.The special effects are excellent though.I can't recommend this film unless you love real stories, family drama, and are interested in the 2004 tsunami..
Sánchez set out to show both a personal story as well as tell a wider tale about the Tsunami affecting that area.Henry and Maria Bennett (Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts) and their children Lucas, Tomas and Simon (Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast) are a British family who go to Thailand for a Christmas vacation.
As Lucas battles in a hospital to get his mother the medical attention she needs, Henry sets out to find Maria and Lucas, something that seems to be a hopeless cause.One of the best features of The Impossible is Bayona's great ability to show both the scale of the disaster and impact it has on the landscape and people whilst still showing a personal story.
Bayona knew the impact of the Tsunami and brought out the harrowing nature of the disaster in its fullest.McGregor, Watts and Holland all give very emotional performance and the trio are excellent bring out their characters in the themes of parenthood and the child-parent relationship and bond.
This is an obvious attempt to tug at the audiences heart strings; but it is at times over done and over played as it tries to elicit as much emotion as it can muster.The Impossible is a very actuate film that excels that showing both a personal story and the wider situation of the disaster.
Maybe because it was a true story, maybe because there was brilliant acting even from the young kids in the film, perhaps the subject matter, Whatever the case this movie grabbed my emotions from the very beginning and did not let go for the duration of the film.I keep seeing reviews from critics arguing that the film is slightly racist as it centers around a white privileged family and not enough emphasis was placed on the fact that Thai people suffered also.
Absent of absurd fantastical elements plaguing high-end disaster movies in Hollywood, The Impossible is a film which uses the real disaster of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and one family's compelling true story of survival that surfaced cause of it.
Instead, THE IMPOSSIBLE is a rarity -- Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona (2007's THE ORPHANAGE) has created an emotionally-driven disaster movie that successfully captures the devastating effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as well as the aftermath of how a significant family struggles to stay alive.
Absolutely credible, amazing and impressive job from Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and Tom Holland, never expected such an amazing show interpreted from this three stars.An environment disaster was NEVER so real thanks for the amazing realistic effect taken from this film.
"Lo impossible" is a realistic Spanish movie about the fate of a family in the tragic 2004 South Asian tsunami with fantastic performances of Tom Holland and Naomi Watts that deserved the nomination not only to the Oscar, but to other Cinema Festivals.
"The Impossible" tells the true story of a family that survived the disaster, and despite the PG-13 rating, the images shown on screen are gruesomely realistic.
The Impossible tells the true story of a family's suffering and how do they survive this natural disaster and unite in the end.The Impossible is a brave attempt by Juan Antonio Bayona(The Orphanage)and scripted by Sergio G Sanchez which is based on the horrific account written by Maria herself.
Ewan Mcgregor as usual was good.The Impossible is well-directed and superbly performed telling the story of a family survival in the dark hour making it actually possible.
It's a true nightmare depicted on screen and is definitely worth the watch if you can handle it.The film focuses on Maria (Watts) and Henry Belon (McGregor) as they vacation in Thailand for Christmas with their three sons: Lucas (Holland), Thomas (Samuel Joslin) and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast).