13 years ago, I received an invitation to a long -term projection for a new film by Ja Bayona. I did not know what it was and I preferred to keep it as well. Upon entering the projection room, I refused the synopsis to a publicist sheet and I parked in a seat as far as possible from other participants (of which there was a short time). All I needed to know was that it was the extremely talented second -year effort of the filmmaker who gave us the cooler designed by experts “the orphanage” and that he had inexplicably taken it five years to follow him. Needless to say, I had great expectations.
“The Impossible” Documents the true story of Maria Belón, who, with her family, survived the Tsunami of the 2004 devastating Indian Ocean who killed more than 220,000 people. It was not at all what I expected from Bayona, but it proved with heartbreaking revenge that this man is a director of the list equipped with amazing technical skills. The ocean fury unleashed by the 9.2 earthquake is captured by a horrible authenticity that leaves you out of breath. The whole sequence shook me with such a trembling degree as I almost had to bolt the theater. But Bayona is not Irwin Allen nor Roland Emmerich; He does not disaster you as a means of joy – it is not an exaltation. Before literally flooding our senses, he spent an economic time establishing his characters. In many films, these scenes may have been insufficient to anchor us in the life of this family, but Bayona and her casting team from Shaheen Baig, Eva Leira, Howard Meltzer and Yolanda Serrano struck the Bullseye with each choice. Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor as parents, Samuel Joslin and Oaklee Pendergast as a younger son, and the revolutionary interpreter of the film, Tom Holland, as a older brother.
I had no sense of Holland before seeing “The Impossible”, but to get out of this projection, I knew that I had seen one of the best performance of children of all time.
The impossible performance of Tom Holland
When we meet Lucas de Holland, he is just a 12 -year -old boy without concern for the world. He is on Christmas vacation with his parents and siblings in a charming Khao Lak, in Thailand, and has a ball until death rushes in his life. Lucas is able to hang on to her mother, but she is seriously injured and desperately needs medical care. As her mother is prepared for surgery, she asks him to locate the rest of the family. At that time, Lucas must become a man.
Lucas de Holland is intelligent and capable, but there are so many things in the world, especially in a foreign country, which he does not understand. His journey is captivating, and we see through each expression and gesture of Holland that he is not sure that he has the things to carry out his impossible task. So many things are questioned in Holland. It reminds me of Jodie Foster in “Taxi Driver” and, in my opinion, the acting Stallion of Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”. Since then, he has had an extremely successful career (he has been Spider-Man for Chrissakes), but I am still waiting for this next direct elimination performance, which I know that he has percolated in his soul. Perhaps this part will be Télémaque in “The Odyssey” by Christopher Nolan. While we are waiting for this epic, I strongly recommend that you consult “the impossible” if you have never seen it. It is a spraying experience, but ultimately full of hope.
