I was in the Far East a few months after the 2004 Tsunami. I stayed in an island that was relatively only mildly touched by the disaster. The locals would not go to the beach and it was largely deserted.

The Impossible is based on true events. The family concerned were actually Spanish.

Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three young children are holidaying in Khao Lak, Thailand for Christmas. Suddenly the hotel is hit by a Tsunami. The family are seperated. Maria and eldest son Lucas (Tom Holland) are on their own. Maria is badly injured but they need to get to safety and they do not know what happened to the rest of the family.

The film spends no time in scene setting. The disaster happens straight away and it is well staged. The movie is split into two. You really do wonder what happened to Henry and the other two children as the focus is on Maria and Henry.

Only later do we see Henry and the other children survive as he tries to search for Maria and Lucas. By this time she is desperately ill in hospital.

The film has a harrowing performance from Watts. Holland rises to the challenge as a boy who tries to make himself useful in reuniting other families. His performance reminded me of the young Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun.

If there is a criticism. It actually pulls back on the chaotic destruction and panic that existed in the region at the time. Villages and local families were destroyed. Many people were split up. The feel good factor just felt a little jarring and also appropriate.

THE IMPOSSIBLE is a terrible film supposedly dealing with the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. Needless to say as a western film this almost entirely ignores the suffering of the Thai people, choosing instead to focus on the plight of a rich, middle class British (in real life, Spanish) family who find themselves caught up in the catastrophe. I don't know what's more shocking, the level of smug, casual racism on display in the premise and execution, or the fact that the guy who directed this also made THE ORPHANAGE.

In any case it's a crashing bore of a film. The only good thing about it is the opening tsunami, which is a masterclass in special effects work; you really believe it's happening so authenticity is second to none. Unfortunately as soon as the tsunami is over the characters begin to act in stupid ways, repeatedly splitting up when they should be together, and overacting for all their worth.

We're saddled with the overrated, ever-worthy Naomi Watts as the mother character, who whines and screams for much of the running time, while the smug Ewan McGregor is just, well, Ewan McGregor. The child actors are particularly irritating here, acting in the stupidest ways imaginable. I hate the way each person acts in respect of the subject matter, the so-called "worthiness" they think they're involved in. The second half of the film consists entirely of people shouting and crying at each other until the predictably sappy and sentimental conclusion, which incredibly offers a happy ending and closes a barely-opened door on the real suffering that went on.

And this one here is probably the most famous film about the 2004 Tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people. The director is Juan Antonio Bayona and the film is written by Sergio G. Sánchez based on María Belón's story. She is the character that Naomi Watts' main character is based on. The only other famous actor in here is Ewan McGregor. But that is going to change soon as Tom Holland's performance in here is probably the main reason why he will be the next Spider Man. Bayona and Sanchez already worked together on "The Orphanage" and given the fact that both are still pretty young, it will be interesting to see what they can come up with in the coming years.

The film can basically split into two halves. The first 55 minutes are about Watts' and Holland's characters and their fights for survival in the chaotic post-catastrophe Thailand. The second half is initially about McGregor's character and the other two sons, but quickly becomes a family affair. The first half we don't know if McGregor's character, Thomas and Simon will live or what happened to them in general. Afterward, it's all about the declining health of Watts' character and the question if she will survive with all her severe injuries. Watts got her second Oscar nomination for her portrayal here. I am not sure if I would have nominated her, but I can see why. She really carries the first half and the only thing I did not really like was the over-the-top altruist approach when she tells her son to help other people in the hospital. At least, this resulted in one of the finest scenes of the film, namely when Holland's character manages to reunite the Swedish father with his son. Holland has a couple well-written (and baity) scenes in general. Another one would be when he meets his two brothers again.

The supporting cast is strong as well. Geraldine Chaplin has one very nice scene about dead stars and I always thought Sönke Möhring was the more talented of the Möhring brothers, even if the general public in Germany thinks otherwise. He totally nailed his scene when he meets McGregor. All in all, this is a decent film. It's very good in the first hour, but gets a bit worse afterward. Still, it is never bad. It is basically what you would expect a nature catastrophe movie to look like. With that comes a good story about survival. Decent effort from everybody involved. Recommended.