The Impossible
(2012)
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The Impossible
(2012)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Naomi Watts | ... | ||
| Ewan McGregor | ... | ||
| Tom Holland | ... | ||
| Samuel Joslin | ... |
Thomas
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| Oaklee Pendergast | ... |
Simon
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| Marta Etura | ... |
Simone
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| Sönke Möhring | ... |
Karl
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| Geraldine Chaplin | ... |
Old Woman
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| Ploy Jindachote | ... |
Caregiver
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Jomjaoi Sae-Limh | ... |
Red Cross Nurse
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Johan Sundberg | ... | |
| Jan Roland Sundberg | ... | ||
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La-Orng Thongruang | ... |
Old Thai Man
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Tor Klathaley | ... |
Young Thai Man
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Douglas Johansson | ... |
Mr. Benstrom
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A regular family - Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three kids - travel to Thailand to spend Christmas. They get an upgrade to a villa on the coastline. After settling in and exchanging gifts, they go to the pool, like so many other tourists. A perfect paradise vacation until a distant noise becomes a roar. There is no time to escape from the tsunami; Maria and her eldest are swept one way, Henry and the youngest another. Who will survive, and what will become of them? Written by Ronaldo Ferreira
Amazing effects and stunts, along with and solid performances balance out some artistic lapses and ethical questions in this true story of one family's experiences of the horrendous Tsunami that killed 300,000.
The downsides; there's something a little off-putting about choosing a white, privileged family as a focus, while at the same time showing almost exclusively other white people as suffering and afraid in a disaster that killed far more local people than tourists. The Thai's are certainly shown in a good light, kindly helping all these suffering whites, but even in the hospital, almost every face we see in a bed is a white one. That hint of odd racial insensitivity is also underlined by replacing the original family, who were Spanish and dark, and making them into a gorgeous blond English family, a telling choice in a 'true' story.
On a more general level, the film can feel manipulative, from the tear jerking score, to the multiple carefully framed "will they spot each other?" shots that feel like a horror film's self-conscious suspense fames, but that cinematic technique feels distractingly artificial in this more naturalistic setting.
There's no question it's exciting and at times quite moving, but I couldn't help thinking I might have felt even more deeply if it wasn't pushing so hard to control my emotions.