Rent The Impossible (2012)

Below average Hollywood-style trivialisation - The Impossible review by RP

It is estimated that up to 250,000 people lost their lives in the tsunami that followed the undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean in December 2004. The countries affected included Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand - and this film follows the fortunes of one family in Thailand as they struggle to survive, are separated, then, against all odds, reunited.

I *hated* this film. While it may be based on a true story it is an over-sanitised, white man's tale that trivialises the sufferings of the local population and focuses on a few English-speaking tourists. The larger tragedy is simply used as background material for the central characters as they pretend to grimace in pain against a background of a terrifying natural disaster.

I also disliked the fact that the central family was Spanish and yet was changed to British for the film - is the white man better box office? But at least the film was made by a Spanish company. Over 5,000 Thais were killed (and over 150,000 Indonesians) and yet we focus on a small over-privileged British tourist family? To me, this really is trivialisation.

Naomi Watts gained an (in my opinion, undeserved) Oscar nomination for her performance, Ewan McGregor gave one of his usual wooden performances, but young Tom Holland was excellent.

It's all very prettily photographed, the tsunami scenes are well done, but I disliked it intensely. I'll give it 2/5 stars because I've seen worse, but frankly this is below average Hollywood-style trivialisation that I didn't expect to see in a European production.

Well-staged tsunami drama - The Impossible review by Alphaville

This is an affecting true-life story about a family searching for each other in the aftermath of the 2004 Thai tsunami. It’s so well staged, acted and directed that you’d have to have a heart of stone not to warm to it, especially with swelling violins telling you how to react. It wastes only 15 minutes in getting to the exciting tsunami sequence, but the majority of the film is spent in hospitals afterwards, where things get a bit maudlin and samey. No opportunity to manipulate audience emotions is spared. It certainly wouldn’t bear a second viewing, but if you enjoy a good tearful wallow get a box of tissues ready and draw up a seat.

An incredible, heart-wrenching & emotional masterpiece, with a stunning McGregor performance - The Impossible review by TB

I remember so clearly the tsunami of 2004, especially as it was Boxing Day. But this story seeks to flesh out not only the true story/experience of one family, but also to show not only the selfishness at times of some of those caught up in it (like someone refusing to allow a desperate person to use their mobile to contact family,) but also and far more frequently the incredible generosity & care of particularly the Thai people to help.

Maria & Henry arrive in Thailand with their 3 children to spend Christmas in the beautiful surroundings of Khao Lak. Over the opening minutes, you see them all sharing wonderful & precious moments together, as they mess around in the swimming pools & light fire lanterns, making the night sky come alive. Then, one day the peace is shattered in the most horrific scenes imaginable: an enormous tsunami hits the beach where they are, destroying everything in its path & splitting them up. When the tsunami passes, there is a frantic attempt to try to help the wounded & find loved ones.

For me, the special effects, as well as the use of miniatures/real world effects was absolutely staggering. When you look at the special features & see how it was recreated, it simply blows your mind. There isn't one second where it doesn't look like you are watching actual footage/you have been thrown into the center of this horror. The scenes of the water exploding through everything in its path, destroying & obliterating enormous buildings like they are made of glass, are the stuff of nightmares.

But this film is most remarkable for its performances. Naomi Watts & Ewan McGregor had worked together before on the fairly underpowered & little-seen film Stay, but had always said that they wanted to work together again. And their chemistry pays dividends here. One thing which is often completely missed by people is that in the space of literally 10 minutes, they have to convince you that they are a family who have known each other for years & make you want to follow/become emotionally involved with them.

Watts, who we mainly follow for the first part of the film is, as you would expect, amazing. Her chemistry with Tom Holland (in his feature film debut after coming to fame as one of the Billy Elliot's in the UK stage shows,) is also great. Her resilience in the face of catastrophic injuries & undescribable fear is stunning.

But this film belongs to Ewan McGregor. He has always been one of my 2 favourite actors (the other being Daniel Day-Lewis,) and in this film, there was not one thing that could be improved with his performance. He is a completely broken man who has to try & find his children and wife, whilst dealing with the constant horror of what is happening around him. And this leads to one of the most heart-breaking & unbearably emotional scenes I have ever watched, with some of the best acting imaginable, in a bus garage surrounded by actual people who were caught up in the tsunami (not actors.)

But there is also many wonderful acts of kindness shown which were inspired by real-life events. One of the most moving for me was the small moments that were shown of local people who has literally lost everything they had, be it property or loved ones, making rafts out of whatever they could salvage, rescuing people & getting them to medical help. This showed so clearly & movingly how decent people can be when helping their fellow man.

The film does everything you could imagine. It makes you laugh, cry, wince but also feel hope that in the worst times imaginable, people help each other & miracles can happen. I loved it, and I hope you do as well.