The Impossible

The 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami is one of the worst natural disasters on record.
It was triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean with a magnitude 9.1-9.3, making it "the third largest earthquake measured on a seismograph". The earthquake, which was recorded at a depth of 30km below the surface, triggered the tsunami which affected Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India to name a few. The deathtoll was estimated by the US Geological Survey to be about 230,000, placing it in the top 10 deadliest earthquakes of all time. Regardless of who or where you were at the time, it was impossible to escape the effects.
It is this event which forms the backdrop to The Impossible.

It is not the first disaster film I've watched, but it is easily the best. Perhaps it is because it is based on the real life story of Maria Belon and her family, or maybe it was because I can remember the day it happened.
Regardless, I have never been consumed by a film as much as I was by The Impossible.
Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and Tom Holland in his sensational film debut as Lucas Bennett, one of Maria (Watts) and Henry (McGregor) Bennett's three sons.
It tells the story of the Bennett family, who travel to Thailand for a Christmas holiday in 2004.
On Boxing Day morning, the Bennett family are playing in and beside the pool of a resort. It is at this time a tsunami smashes through the resort, sweeping away everything in its path. The Bennett family are separated by the force of the waves, but luckily, all survive.
The rest of the film follows the family as they try to reunite.
The Impossible has been widely acclaimed since it was released, and with good reason: it's a bloody good film.
Watts and McGregor are fantastic as the Bennett parents, but it is young Holland who steals the show for mine. The film closely follows Holland, and you feel as helpless as he does when he tries to deal with everything that has happened. You laugh when he laughs, you cry when he cries.
Personally, The Impossible reaches a level of notoriety with me as it becomes the second on a list of "films that made me cry/tear up a little". 
Keep the tissues handy - you're going to need them.

The Impossible: 113 minutes (2012)