I remember as a child watching this tsunami unfold on the news and the devastation it brought to millions of families, and so to see it recreated in this film following the true story of one family’s survival throughout it was gut-wrenching to watch.

The Impossible follows a family of five as they travel to Thailand to spend Christmas, however on Boxing Day a devastating tsunami rocks the country and the family are separated, the eldest son being swept away with his mother and the father somehow surviving the horror with their two youngest sons.

For the first half of the film we mainly follow the eldest son and the mum as they travel through the plains of Thailand to try and get help, including many horrific scenes of gore and violence that you do not expect to see. Their bodies ravaged by this natural disaster and not having the time to stop and think, just carry on is awful, and you cannot imagine what you would do in that situation.

But as that the mother finally gets to the hospital and is able to receive treatment for her wounds we then switch to the father’s perspective as he hunts for his eldest son and wife while trying to keep his two younger sons safe. We even see him make the heartbreaking decision of sending his children off alone with other children in hopes that they will be sent somewhere safe higher up in the mountains away from the water, and not knowing when he’ll be able to see them again.

But the most surprising part of this film and true story is that all five members survive and are reunited, and you have to imagine how terrifying those moments must be of not knowing who is still out there and who can help you and whether you’re even going to survive yourself, especially the mother who seems to constantly be getting worse from her injuries and on the brink of death.

It’s a gut-wrenching film that as an adult with no children yet I’m glad I watched because I can’t imagine watching it with young children thinking what you would do in that situation. No longer are you your main priority and you’ve got to make sure your children are safe. I can’t imagine going through something so horrific. It’s an incredibly well done and well made film that touches your heart and really makes you thankful that you didn’t have to go through the situation, and it breaks your heart thinking of the ones that did.

It’s definitely not an easy film to watch but it’s very informative in showing you that sometimes miracles can happen in the world and sometimes our lives are really just bought down to sheer dumb luck.

What do you think of The Impossible?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding