Get out the tear jar; we’re going for a gusher. Speaking of gushers, a tsunami hit SE Asia in December of 2004. On land, it took the form of unstoppable flood water. Millions upon millions of gallons of flood water — like an overturned bathtub saturating and sweeping away the mat, shampoo, toy boat, scale and all the towels. You’re never gonna get dry again, pal.
There is Hellish awful about your life possessions being reduced to a pair of ridiculous Bermuda shorts. Your body is broken; your wealth stripped; your ties to loved ones have been severed and suddenly you’re forced to wander around collecting your life for the entirety of the immediate future while wearing the word “Juicy” on your ass. How seriously do you suppose contemporaries would have taken Jesus, Gandhi or The Buddha had he forsaken all other worldly possessions in favor of flip-flops and a thong?
So here’s the scenario: you’re vacationing with family on a Thai beach. Everybody is poolside and dressed appropriately. A flash flood sweeps every single person miles away in different directions. This includes your three children. Whatchagonnado? Oh, and in the process, the flood wasn’t exactly kind to your limbs or internal organs. This is what happened to Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry (Ewan McGregor). In braving the makeshift river, Maria caught the eldest, Lucas (Tom Holland). Henry managed to keep the youngest two relatively close to him. The two teams, however, were washed miles away from one another.
The flood itself was a wholly impressive recreation. As were the sets. I spent a fair amount of time looking for the CGI because you can’t just create another tsunami in Thailand, can you? There is an impressive amount of “you’re screwed” landscape in every panning shot of The Impossible. I wish I could say I was as impressed with the close-ups. During the deluge, director Juan Antonio Bayona chose to go with hand-held. This made sense as the feel of natural chaos was emphasized in the inability to get a clean look at the 
action for more than a second or two. Once the flood ebbed, however, what is the point of showing the constantly moving face of an immobile woman being dragged? The action scene is over. Stop being arty and go tell a story.
The story is pain. Henry doesn’t know where Maria is. Maria doesn’t know where Henry is. Maria’s health consistently deteriorates while she finds/loses/finds/loses/finds son Lucas. The make-up guy went a little overboard, too. At one point towards the end of the film, Maria sports an ugly black eye – this poor woman; she’s lost, she’s wearing rags, she can’t find three family members, the people around don’t speak the language, her leg is gangrenous, the hospital looks like a war zone and on top of that somebody’s been beating her up. What’s up with that?
After the initial flood, Maria and Lucas are saved by a small village. Made me wonder if this is what poor Thais did – adopt a European or two under some sort of disaster exchange program. Henry has his own issues, of course. Armed with just a local map, he abandons his youngsters in order to seek out Maria and Lucas. In a hospital at nightfall, a new friend lends him a cell phone to which he calls his father in England. At this point he loses it completely, having held together for so long. The new friend encourages, “you can’t leave it like that” and gives Henry back the phone to complete the moment. Missing from this scene is the practical – here’s your contact, “if you hear from Lucas or Maria, they are to … “ My wife has three plans for us in case of disaster/separation. You can’t make just one when you have to? Impossible. This film isn’t about practicality or logic; it’s about watching family members thought dead reunite. If you can keep the constant tear stream going to the end of the film, your emotional eddy is a tsunami.
Tsunami broke in the land of Thai
Which leads to wondering why
Regather your life you must try
To innocence please wave good-bye
It’s enough to make you want to cry
Again and again and again.
Rated PG-13, 114 Minutes
D: Juan Antonio Bayona
W: Sergio G. Sánchez, María Belón
Genre: Reunion
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Suckers for family member recovery
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: The anti-tsunami contingency
