The Impossible Blu-ray

****************SPOILER ALERTS*************** I feel I can't write anything better than what has already been written here here but I will give my opinion of what I took away from this movie. This is the true story of a family on vacation in Thailand over the Christmas holiday, 2004. This is an upper class family of five (parents Maria and Henry, and three sons, Lucas, the oldest at around 12, Thomas, next at around 6 or 7, and Simon maybe 4 years old). They are staying at what appears to be a 5 star ocean front resort. On December 26, the day after Christmas, as all five are enjoying themselves at the pool. Maria opts to relax and read a book, while enjoying the antics of her "boys." The impossible happens so quickly, nobody has time to gather family members let alone try to get to safety. One minute Maria was standing by a glass wall retrieving some pages of a book which had been caught up in an unexpected strong breeze. As she picks up the pages, she stops, listens and KNOWS something is wrong. As the waves cascaded over the front of the resort and finally hit the pool area, all she could do was scream for her husband and children before being picked up and swept crashing through the window, through every kind of manmade and natural pieces of things smashed by the water. This is probably every person's nightmare. What I would like to try to convey to you that touched me so deeply in this movie was, first of all the realism that at times was excruciating to watch. I had thought that Maria would have been at the heart and soul of this tragic event replayed for us to see what mayhem can lay around the corner for any of us. But it was Thomas whose story became central as he found his mother in the initial incoming mess and literally saved her life. This young boy was exposed to a terrifying event at such a young age and proved to be a leader, a caretaker, a sleuth and ultimately the tie that pulled the family back together in the midst of chaos. I have read much about that tsunami, and judging by the fact that the water at their resort became shallow quickly, they were at the edge of this catastrophe. Even so, this movie made far more real, to me, the events as they took place over the next 24 hours. Yes, some scenes were difficult to watch and I cried a lot throughout it. But at the very heart of this movie, as this well off family is reduced to the level of the poorest native, was the intense kindness conveyed by many who made this same journey (not all were kind, though, and happily, Maria Belon, who takes story credit, chose not to dwell on the negative, but to let the shining light of who we can be to each other as humans, experiencing a horrific event at the same time). I am glad I watched this movie. Happy to see there is yet hope for humanity despite the things going on around us today. There were no heroes, no take charge fixer, just a lot of people trying to stay alive and find their loved ones. Let me take that back. There were many, many heroes that day, but today we will never know their names. I have one quibble with the movie which I have debated whether to drop a star or not. At the very end, when they were flown to better facilities, they flew in a rather large, empty jet. I was left wondering why, with what looked like tens of thousands of people left in sweltering heat, many with still bleeding injuries, many wearing torn clothing and no shoes. It seemed to me that this family was the type to at least try to see if others needed a lift. Perhaps they did and it didn't fit in the movie. I highly recommend this movie if you just want a good look at humanity in chaos and how people behaved. For me, it was uplifting and hopeful. I wish the Belon family long and happy, blessed lives. For it was nothing short of a miracle, it was nearly impossible that they made it out, all five, as an intact family with mostly treatable injuries. This story opened my eyes to the many other catastrophes that seem to be taking place more and more today. It left me wanting to be involved in somehow helping people in each instance. I won't soon forget The Impossible. It left an indelible mark on my heart. Read more

Its a beautiful, powerful story about family and luck. SPOILER ALERT --> I cried at every scene that they found each other because if you had a family you would understand that relief and joy of being reunited with your loved ones after a cataclysmic event. And you yourself would want to be counted as one of the lucky ones and have your family come out of such an event whole and intact, without loss. I felt sorry for those who were the unlucky ones. And they went that over a little in the end with all those crying people discovering their loved one was deceased. The movie didn't delve too much on them, nor did the movie touch much about the effect on the Thai natives. And I did sense the westernization of that country with foreigners enjoying the things that to them would be cheap, but unaffordable to the Thai natives. I was a little bothered by that because it bordered on exploitation of the virgin lands. Its like some rich westerner or Chinese person thought to profit from the seeming paradise of untouched wilderness and beaches. It would be expensive for regular people in third world countries to vacation in Europe and enjoy the lifestyle of German natives, that sort of thing. And Europeans and the Chinese ruined and polluted their lands, and are now westerners are trying to reverse its effects, which is slightly redeeming. Anyway, like I said earlier the movie wasn't about that, it was about family. The scenery and effects were beautiful, plot moved smoothly, and the acting was superb. Im a fan of McGregor and I thought his chemistry with Kidman was warm. You can feel their chemistry. That kid from the new Spiderman is in this movie, except he's younger because this is an older movie. But boy that kid can act like a pro with serious acting chops! He's so natural! His siblings were great too. Wow, they did a great job. You can feel the emotions, believe them and relate to them. This is an excellent movie, so watch it. :D Read more

One of the better movies of the 21st century. Character-driven, magnificently acted, and beautifully directed. It is an emotional tour-de-force, and that it is based on a true story just makes it all the more poignant. This film easily presents the best lifetime performances for all the involved actors: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, and even Tom Holland. I was surprised to see him in this and had never seen him in anything before his Spider-Man roles. Ironic that he is better in this than he is for the role he is most famous for, and deservedly so. Watching this film, as riveting as it was, came like a breath of fresh air with all the tired franchises in theaters right now. If you believe, as I do, that family is the most important thing in your life, I recommend you see this movie and you will never take the people in your life for granted again. Read more