The Impossible

On December 26th, 2004 a massive tsunami hit Thailand. This is the real life story of a family who got caught up in this major disaster.
I am a big fan of disaster movies. I love to see all the massive destruction that special effects can unleash. I especially like major disasters with lots of loud surround sound. Most disaster films though are fake and not real. Which is why when you think that the events in 'The Impossible' are real, it changes your perspective of disaster films. I do not think I have cried as much in a film as I did with this movie. I'm not talking a lump in the throat or a tear or two. I'm talking major sobbing. There are two moments when that happened so it was not through the entire film. During the tsunami sequence  I was upset but not as much as I was later in the film. When you know that this is a real event it just makes the situation all the more heartbreaking. What these people, not just the family we focus on, but everyone who got caught up in this catastrophe is hard to fathom. Focusing on one family means director Juan Antonio Bayona can give a more intimate approach to what happened. Juan just tells events as they happened with out cliché or emotional manipulation. You feels for these people because of what they went through but not in a manipulative way. Except at the end with a sequence that did feel a bit cringe worthy.
Naomi Watts does a simply stunning performance in this film. Not only does she have to endure emotional distress but amazing amounts of physical distress too. What Maria goes through in this film is incredibly harrowing and Naomi plays her with a great deal of courage and fortitude. She deserves all the recognition she has received for this role and in my opinion should win the awards. Ewan McGregor is also brilliant but does not appear to go through as much as Naomi so has not received as much attention, but is still wonderful. Tom Holland went through just as much physical and emotional distress as Naomi and is equally as brilliant. Tom displays emotional skill far beyond his years and almost manages to steal the movie. Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast are also very good as the other two children.
This is not the type of film you want to see if your looking to cheer yourself up. I know you may go to the cinema to escape but this is still an amazingly powerful film that you should see. Just take a fist full of tissues.