Nothing is more powerful than the human spirit.
In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. But the day after Christmas, the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. Though Maria and her family face their darkest hour, unexpected displays of kindness and courage ameliorate their terror.
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Character
Earnest, grave, classical in form and overwhelming.
- earnestironic
- gravecomic
- classical in formformally daring
- cooloverwhelming
- resolvedopen-ended
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“Is The Impossible emotionally manipulative?”
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“Is this J. A. Bayona's best work?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Mar 20247/10
After a bit of a bumpy flight to Thailand, a family arrive in Phuket for what ought to have been a dream holiday. Well mother nature had other plans and a earthquake far out at sea generated a series of tsunamis that we now know killed almost a quarter of a million people. That could well have included "Henry" (Ewan McGregor), "Maria" (Naomi Watts) and their children "Lucas" (Tom Holland), "Simon" (Oaklee Pendergast) and "Thomas" (Samuel Joslin) but despite being out in the first wave of the encroaching water, they somehow manage to cling onto anything that will float, to the sturdy trunks of the trees and though separated do survive. That's just the start of their troubles, though - "Maria" is severely injured and with their elder and quite smart son "Lukas". The others - so we are fortunately spared much of the mediocre McGregor - are elsewhere with all looking to repatriate amidst the chaos of debris and mayhem left by the now retreated seawater. The thrust of the drama features mother and son, with quite decent and convincing efforts from both as they must make it to some semblance of safety and then try to get much needed medical help. It's based on the real event, and the pho
Read the whole review on TMDB - Dr Nostromoon TMDB · Feb 20266/10
64/100 A biographical, survive-against-the-odds film about a family who were at the Orchid Resort in Thailand when the Boxing Day Tsunami hit. This is a great film for its type with fantastic acting, especially a teenage Tom Holland who supplied his role with far more depth than you'd expect. I don't normally like survival films and watched this one because of my curiosity over the event. Said event was short and sweet and the rest of the film dragged out the anguish and misery far too much for me but, if you like this type of film, it's one you'll quite likely enjoy. -- DrNostromo.com
Read the whole review on TMDB - Andres Gomezon TMDB · Sep 20148/10
Incredible story with remarkable performances by Naomi Watts and Tom Holland and amazing staging. However, Bayona repeats the same mistakes from other movies like "The Orphanage" when he creates an uneasy situation through some unexplained weird behavior.
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Cast
- Naomi WattsMaria Bennett
- Ewan McGregorHenry Bennett
- Tom HollandLucas Bennett
- Samuel JoslinThomas Bennett
- Oaklee PendergastSimon Bennett
- Marta EturaSimone
- Sönke MöhringKarl Schweber
- Geraldine ChaplinOld Woman
- Ploy JindachoteCaregiver
- Jomjaoi Sae-LimhRed Cross Nurse
Crew
- J. A. BayonaDirector
- Sergio G. SánchezWriter
- Óscar FauraDirector of Photography
- Fernando VelázquezOriginal Music Composer
- Bernat VilaplanaEditor
- Elena RuizEditor
- Belén AtienzaProducer
- Álvaro AugustínProducer
- Ghislain BarroisProducer
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Pairings
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The Dropout 202277% alikeTelevision · Both earnest, classical in form, grave.
Television · Both earnest, grave, classical in form.
Often watched with
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