The Impossible is a devastating movie to watch, recreating
the events of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami which struck Indonesia, Thailand, the
Maldives and other countries in the same region. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed,
many more injured or displaced and any beachfront land was just razed. The impact was so devastating because they
were so unprepared for it, leading to the development of the current Early
Warning System that we have now. So why
do we want or need a movie on this topic when there was so much news coverage
at the time and on the anniversaries ever since?
The answer I guess lies in the way the filmmakers have
chosen to tell the story – reducing the focus down to the survival story of one
family and not trying to look at the region wide issues or just shock you for
shock’s sake. It’s a story of great
courage, determination and never losing hope, set in possibly the most hopeless
and scary situation you could face. This
is based on the experiences of a real family from Spain who were holidaying when the tsunami struck, with the mother and eldest son being swept away by
the wall of water, while the father and two little boys who remained at the
destroyed resort. In the film, it has
been changed to an English family for reasons unknown but probably to allow them
to cast Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts as the couple, who put in powerhouse
performances. I don’t know how closely
the plot sticks to their real experience but it seems pretty authentic with all
the ‘near misses’ the family goes through in their quest to be reunited.
My motivation in seeing the movie was mainly driven by the
hype around Naomi Watts’ performance as Maria Bennett, rather than any
particular desire to understand more about the tsunami. And so I was a little unprepared for the
shock and awe that the filmmakers have delivered, finding myself gasping out
loud at various points, white knuckled with stress and welling up with emotion
as some of the parents’ incredibly difficult decisions resulted in sad
consequences.
The performance by Naomi Watts is incredible, even when she
is simply lying in a hospital terribly injured.
The director has literally and figuratively put her through a wringer in
this film and she does deserve the awards she has won to date. But Ewan McGregor’s performance should not
have been overlooked either, although featuring less in the movie, as some of
his scenes are the most heart wrenching of all as he is torn between looking
after his small children or searching for his beloved wife and eldest son who
may be dead but he refuses to give up hope.
The children’s performances are quite amazing for their age and what
they must have been exposed to mentally and physically to pull off the tsunami
scene.
Many people will choose not to see this movie to avoid a
reminder of a huge tragedy which could be exploitative, and I completely
understand this. I would have been one
of that group without my Oscars goal.
It’s not a must-see movie given how closely it covers an enormous level
of human suffering. However, I’m glad that I did see it and that they haven’t
exploited the issue. I definitely can’t
say I enjoyed it (yes I know it’s one of my favourite descriptions, I will work
on that) but I gained something from the viewing. An appreciation of the smallness of our
existence compared to Mother Nature’s power, of telling the people around you
that you love them (something the family in the movie did all the time which is
probably what gave them the hope to carry on looking and find each other,
knowing the others would be doing the same) and of the strength we are capable
of if we have a purpose and don’t just give in to hopelessness. Sad and
horrifying, but inspirational and amazing.
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