"The Impossible"

On December 26th 2004 and event occured that took the lives of over 200,000 people.
The film looks at how the disaster affected an everyday family.

A couple and their three sons head off to Thailand to spend what they hope will be a very Merry Christmas together. The festivities go well, and they are having a great time. But things change for them and hundreds of thousands like them the day after Christmas. An earthquake triggers a tsunami, and a huge wall of water heads towards the complex they are staying in. The force of the water is so tremendous that people are sent in every direction, and inevitably the family are seperated. The Mother and her eldest Son in one area, and elsewhere the Father and his two younger Sons, neither knowing whether the other are alive. First they come to terms with the horror of what they have been caught up in, then they try to find help amongst the death and devastation.

Both parts of the family soon find other survivors and are helped along their journey. Mother Maria has suffered some major injuries as a result of the disaster and does get to hospital. Whilst she awaits treatment, she enlists her oldest Son Lucas to help those around him, so he sets about to trying to reunite lost family members. There is one truly moving moment in the film when a Father and Son are brought together again.

Yet the film shows the goodness in man, as those people, strangers to each other came together, in this devastating event, to help one another, to care for one another. It would be easy to sit in the audience and wonder how much artistic license the film-makers have taken with the movie, but by all accounts very little has been altered about the actual events that take place.
The film vividly recreates those horrific events of that Boxing Day 2004, with some awesome visual effects. The make-up too is top notch, both recreating the injuries suffered, and the effects of infection.

The performances across the board are excellent, they are not over sentimental, striking the right cord. As ever Ewan McGregor is on top form as Henry, the father of the family. Naomi Watts again shows why she is one of the best Actresses at work, with her moving performance as Maria, the mother. All three child actors are excellent, but if I had to single out any one performance from the whole cast then it would be Tom Holland, a quite remarkable jon from one so young.

Yes I have been very critical of "Argo" and the liberties it took with its story telling, it is reassuring that here we get a very accurate account of what happened to this family. Yes there nationality has been altered but their story of survival is real, and should be an example of film-makers to not embelish facts or alter or create evenst just for artistic reasons.

If anyone wants to watch a film that champions human spirit over adversity, then forget "Argo", and watch this truly amazing and inspiring film. It is one that you will not forget in a hurry.

A humbling film that shows the greatness in humanity against huge loss and adversity......9 out of 10.