The Impossible (2012)

directed by: Juan Antonio Bayona
writen by: Sergio G. Sánchez
photographed by: Óscar Faura
music by: Fernando Velázquez
edited by: Elena Ruiz y Bernat Vilaplana
stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland
imdb

A catastrophe that produces more than 220.000 deaths, has to have its movie. It appeared in one of the three stories in which Clint Eastwood's Hereafter was divided, but there wasn't a big budget movie about it. And that is what The Impossible is: the (¿definitive?) movie about the tsunami.

As you may already know it is based on the true story of a spanish family that were spending their holidays in Thailand when the tsunami strikes.

The tsunami is portrayed with great accuracy (or at least that is what seems to us, that were not there) and very dramatically. The special effects related to the tsunami are simply astounding. The part preceding the tsunami  and the tsunami itself are, by far, the best of the movie.

But let's point out the biggest strength and weakness of The Impossible: it is the drama for the drama's sake, and only the drama. Or, put in other words, it openly tries and (almost for everybody) achieves, making viewers move, or directly cry.

The problem is that it comes to one point that you are totally fed up of suffering. But you can't help it. The thing is so excessive that it creates a reaction in your organism, like antibodies against this overdose of, not even sadness, of emotion.

Anyway, The Impossible avoids the embarrassment (that its dramatical overdose may cause) thanks to its irreproachable technical production, and, specially (this may be the best thing of the movie), the performances of Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and the kids. Watts and McGregor are simply gorgeous.

The following may be considered a SPOILER:

There is a moment in The Impossible that becomes specially significant: the call of the character portrayed by Ewan McGregor to his family to tell them that he and the yourger kids are ok. I have never witnessed a moment of silence in a movie theater like the one that followed the telephone call. But then, there was a good example of the tricks of the screenplay when all the other characters ask McGregor to call again repeating "Come on, come on, come on..."... And this is a perfect example of how near total emotion and ridiculous are.