The Impossible

A powerful story based on one family’s survival of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor and is directed by J.A. Bayona.

In order to recreate the tsunami, the production worked with six special effects companies. It took one year to create the impressive, horrific ten minute sequence in which the first enormous and deadly wave engulfs the coast

In order to recreate the tsunami, the production worked with six special effects companies. It took one year to create the impressive, horrific ten minute sequence in which the first enormous and deadly wave engulfs the coast

Based on a true story, The Impossible is the unforgettable account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst of our time. But the true-life terror is tempered by the unexpected displays of compassion, courage and simple kindness that Maria and her family encounter during the of their lives. Both epic and intimate, devastating and uplifting, The Impossible is a journey to the core of the human heart.

Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three sons begin their winter vacation in , looking forward to a few days in tropical paradise. But on the morning of December 26th, as the family relaxes around the pool after their Christmas festivities the night before, a terrifying roar rises up from the center of the earth. As Maria freezes in fear, a huge wall of black water races across the hotel grounds toward her.

Although The Impossible is based on the incredible survival story of a family, the Alvarez Belons, they are Spanish in real life, not English as in the movie. However, their cinematic doubles, played Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor as parents Henry and Maria, and their three boys, played by Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast and Simon Joslin, are truly citizens of the world. Although they speak in their native British dialects – McGregor favoring his Scottish brogue – McGregor’s character Henry works in Japan, and Watts’ character Maria is a doctor who has put her practice on hold so that she and their sons can travel with him.

The Impossible prepped for almost two years and shot for 25 weeks between Spain and Thailand on more than 60 sets. Principal photography took place at the studios of Ciudad de la Alicante, Spain and at multiple different locations in Thailand, many of which were where the actual events had occurred. Because the film is about real people who underwent unimaginable horror and devastation, to honor and portray their experience, Bayona insisted on a rigorous authenticity.

Screenplay is by Sergio G. Sanchez (The Orphanage) with the story by Maria Belon. Producers are Belen Atienza, Alvaro Augustin, Enrique Lopez-Lavigne and Ghislan Barrois.

Related content

MoreMovieDetails

All Posts
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Share this article: The Impossible

Facebook
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Pinterest
Email

MORE TOPICS

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is an American crime thriller film and sequel to the 2005 film Sin City. Co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, the script is co-written by Rodriguez, Miller, and William Monahan

The Five-Year Engagement

The director and writer/star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall join the producer of Bridesmaids for the irreverent comedy The Five-Year Engagement. Beginning where most romantic comedies end, the new film from director Nicolas Stoller, producer Judd Apatow and Rodney Rothamlooks at what happens when an engaged couple, Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, keeps getting tripped up on the long walk down the aisle.

Keanu

One of the trademarks of Key and Peele’s humor has been their ability to turn on a dime, changing their speech, posture and entire demeanor to go from urbane men of color in suburbia to urban African Americans in the inner city. In “Keanu,” they push the envelope on their comedy brand.

Blue Valentine centers on a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.

Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine is a romantic drama film written and directed by Derek Cianfrance that premiered in competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It is co-written by Joey Curtis and Cami Delavigne and stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. The film was scored by Brooklyn band Grizzly Bear.

The Divergent Series: Insurgent

The Divergent Series: Insurgent picks up three days after the end of Divergent, when Tris and Four narrowly hindered Jeanine’s plot to use mind-controlled Dauntless troops to exterminate the population of Abnegation.

Journey to the West

This is a world plagued by demons, who cause its human inhabitants unspeakable suffering. Young demon hunter Xuan Zang, fearlessly guided by his belief in “giving himself for the greater cause”, risks his all and conquers a water demon, a pig demon and the demon of all demons, Sun Wukong.