Director Juan Antonio Bayona follows up his critically-acclaimed
feature debut The Orphanage with this drama set during the 2004 tsunami,
and detailing one family's incredible fight for survival. Inspired by
actual events, The Impossible opens on December 26th, as Henry (Ewan
McGregor), his wife Maria (Naomi Watts), and their three sons lounge
poolside following an eventful Christmas. But just as the family begins
to forget their troubles and settle in for a relaxing tropical getaway,
one of the worst natural disasters in modern history changes their lives
in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, as shock gives way to abject horror,
the devoted parents fight to protect their children, encountering
scenes heart-wrenching tragedy and experiencing acts of incredible
compassion as the entire country of Thailand is engulfed in chaos. Tom
Hollander and Geraldine Chaplin co-star.
The Impossible isn't an easy film to watch, but it is one that demands viewing. Putting audiences in the thick of the 2004 tsunami, which, without warning on the morning of December 26, swept across the shores of Southeast Asia and left countries like Thailand in ruins. The Impossible follows a vacationing family separated by the devastating act of nature as they attempt to push through their injuries in hopes of reuniting.
It's a shocking, emotional experience. To pull it off, director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage) had to approach the tidal wave like any similar blockbuster special effects, using movie magic to reproduce fluid destruction. In this exclusive clip from the Q&A conducted for EPIX and LA Times' Envelope Screening Series, Bayona describes the technical process of creating the tsunami. He also goes into detail about his biggest challenge: pulling it off with the necessary emotional weight. To aid him, he enlisted two of the best actors working in Hollywood: Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, who also appear in the video to describe the physical experience of working on The Impossible:
