Acclaimed Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage) makes his English-language debut with The Impossible, a powerful drama based on the true story of a family caught up in the tsunami that hit the coast of Thailand on Boxing Day, 2004, and its harrowing aftermath.
The film premiered at TIFF back in September – you can read our five-star review here – and has been very much gaining traction in the coming Oscar season ever since.
We saw the powerful UK trailer land last month, and now Summit have released a new featurette, with a focus on the true story upon which the film is based.
“Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand, 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. 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 natural catastrophes 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 darkest hours of their lives. Both epic and intimate, devastating and uplifting, THE IMPOSSIBLE is a journey to the core of the human heart.”
Bayona reunites with Sergio G. Sánchez (The Orphanage), who penned the script, with Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, and Oaklee Pendergast completing the cast as McGregor’s and Watt’s three young children.
The Impossible will be given an Oscar-qualifying release in the US on 21st December, before coming to the UK on 1st January, 2013, a day earlier than previously expected. It’s an incredibly powerful and very affecting film, and I recommend you all see it as soon as it arrives in a theatre near you.
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