New Release Review: The Impossible (Juan Antonio Bayona, 2012)

The Impossible, director Juan Antonio Bayona’s second feature film following the atmospheric haunted house thriller, The Orphanage (2007), focuses on the tragic Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 that killed 230,000 people, conveying the ordeal through the experiences of one family.

A husband and wife, Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry (Ewan McGregor), and their three young sons (Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pedergast), have decided to spend Christmas at a beachside resort in Thailand. On Boxing Day they are spending the day at the pool. All of sudden, a faint roar can be heard out at sea, birds can be seen flying in the opposite direction and the ground trembles, signifying the arrival of the Tsunami. The pool dwellers have no time to escape as the wave completely destroys the buildings along the coast and hurtles inland, sweeping up Marie and Lucas (Holland). They reunite after being thrown about for a while in the fierce rapids, and the locals assist in escorting a seriously injured Maria to a nearby hospital. This is unbeknownst to Henry and the two younger sons, who have not given up hope but have been since searching in vain.

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