The Impossible (2012)

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the worst ever recorded, is one of those disasters that shook the world, causing a widespread synonymous sorrow. Making a movie about such things can be tricky. The recent 9/11 movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was an example of how much of a misfire movies of the sort can be. That movie and others like Schindler’s List and Titanic used a technique in which the story focuses on an individual struggle that ends in triumph. In this way, the movie becomes inspirational by not paying too much attention to the terrors of the tragedy itself. This can go either way, but thankfully The Impossible, which concerns the aforementioned tsunami is one of the good ones.

Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona, whose only other well-known directorial credit is the wonderful Spanish-language thriller The Orphanage, finds a perfect balance here between the horrifying and the touching. His movie stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor as the heads of a family on Christmas vacation when they are pummeled by enormous waves while relaxing in their resort pool. The movie is based on the story of a real-life Spanish family, though the characters in the film are English. Some critics have complained about this decision to focus on the unfortunate events of a privileged white family surrounded by other races that are ignored.  Such claims of racism are absurd. Bayona has stated his intention was to ignore the question of race entirely and to simply show the humanity of these people. He succeeds on an incredible scale.

Watts’ harrowing performance has been getting lots of deserved attention, but this isn’t the kind of movie where you look at it and say, “Oh, yes. What wonderful performances.” The whole thing, even with great stars, would have fallen apart if it hadn’t accessed just the right emotional tone. If these people didn’t come across as real people, if the moments of heightened intensity had felt forced, or if the story had gotten lost in its own chaos, we would have been too aware of it as a film trying to make us feel things and we would have felt nothing. As it is, The Impossible is an incredible achievement as both a drama and a spectacle. The disaster does blow us away with its sudden extreme intensity (By the way, those were real waves during that pivotal scene, a rare treat of reality in a computer-dominated era.) and we do feel for the characters. Of course, that wouldn’t have been possible if the performances weren’t great, but they are great because we are never aware of acting. It is all too real for that.

I would not consider myself a pushover when it comes to movies intended to evoke pity. Despite that, I can say with no embarrassment that this is a film that moved and unnerved me.  I can also say that I was on the edge of my seat throughout, which is to enforce an old cliché that I am rarely able to truthfully use.  Profoundly incredible pictures like this don’t come around every day and I am extremely glad I was able to witness it.

10/10