The Impossible
Here’s a film based on the true story of one family’s survival of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.
Maria Bennett (Naomi Watts), her husband Henry, and her three young sons (including a pre-Spider-Man Tom Holland) are vacationing near the shore in Thailand, escaping a cold December back home to enjoy the warmer weather abroad.
But their vacation comes to a sudden end when the violent tsunami tears across the coast, crashing through walls, bringing massive destruction. Maria and her eldest son survive the initial onslaught, but Maria is seriously injured. Meanwhile, Henry and the two younger boys face their own struggles as they search through the wreckage for their loved ones.
While the film does not hold back in portraying the weight of the devastation, this only serves to highlight the extraordinary acts of selflessness of ordinary people when faced with such terrible catastrophe. The film is rated PG-13 for intense disaster sequences and some disturbing images of injuries, so is more appropriate for older viewers.
Runtime: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Rated PG-13
82% on Rotten Tomatoes
IMDb Parents Guide
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