The Impossible

This film was heart-wrenchingly realistic and incredibly difficult to watch. That doesn't mean it wasn't excellent, because it was. In fact, it is one of the best films of 2012.
Here a typical family, British by their accents (though the actual family is Hispanic), but living in Japan for the last several years, travels to Thailand for the Christmas holiday, just days before the devastating tsunami in late December 2004. Maria (Naomi Watts) is the mother while Henry (Ewan McGregor) is the father. They have three sons: Lucas (Tom Holland) is the eldest, with Thomas (Samuel Joslin) and Simon (Oaklee Pendergast) as the two younger brothers. Before the tsunami hits, the family's biggest worries include whether or not they set the alarm system to their house, the turbulence endured as the plane lands and whether or not Henry will be fired from his job. Then everything changes in an instant. The tsunami hits and the family is separated from each other.
Maria is alone, holding on to dear life to a palm tree, screaming at the top of her lungs and then she sees Lucas floats by. Eventually, they join forces and Lucas informs her that Thomas, Simon and Henry are dead. Maria is upset, but doesn't show it. Survival is the first thing on her mind. Then Maria and Lucas wade through the dangerous water and Lucas notices how badly his mother is injured, the back of her leg is literally torn open and the sight of it can turn anyone's stomach. As they are nearing a tree, Maria hears the yelling of a small child. She begs Lucas to go after it, but Lucas doesn't want to go. Maria snaps at him, "Even if it's the last thing you do." So they rescue the small Daniel. And they climb up the tree, Maria even refuses Lucas's help. Here they are until the next day when they are rescued. Maria must endure more pain as she is dragged back to receive medical attention, probably even furthering her injury. Unfortunately, they are separated from Daniel as they make their journey. (Luckily, Daniel has a happy ending as he is reunited with his father.) Upon arriving at the medical station, she is in bad shape though the doctors quickly work on her bad leg. Finally, she is resting in a bed and urges Lucas to help the woman in the neighboring bed, only for her to cough up blood. Maria then throws up something stringy and horrendous. After she calms down, she encourages her son to help people as he is good at it. So he wanders around the hospital, dealing with language barriers and various people desperate to find their family members and after some time wandering around, he finally reunites a Swedish father with his son. This makes him want to see his mother again, but she has been moved and he, along with the kind nurse, assume that she is dead so Lucas is taken to the tent with all the other orphans or unclaimed children. This is where he stays until the nurse returns and takes him to a table to examine some objects but he recognizes none of them. Then he is taken to his mother, she has been moved and misidentified and is probably too weak to correct them as she is in bad shape, barely surviving surgery and relying on an oxygen mask to breathe. Her ordeal is far from over.
Luckily, this story has a happy ending. Henry survived as did the two younger sons. Henry is searching for his wife and eldest son, and trying not to lose hope. However, his sons have the opportunity to go north to the mountains and Henry lets them go but opts not to journey with them as he must continue searching for his wife. Along the way, he stumbles into an American family who are trying to figure out a way to get out of there, never mind the numerous injured all around them. The man refuses to lend Henry his cell phone, so Henry can let his family know that he is alive. "Everyone here needs something," is the cruel answer he receives. So he returns. Finally, he finds his way to a hospital where he and some others who have lost their family have formed a sort of support group. A man who has lost his wife and young daughter offers his cell phone to Henry, despite its low battery. Henry calls his father-in-law and tells them that he is fine but he doesn't believe that Maria is. He breaks down, this is his most powerful scene. Henry, who is not too injured, with nothing major wrong, though he has some nasty cuts and is horribly filthy, as everyone around him is. He sets out to find his family. The other father joins him because he just can't stay put.
In the meantime, Thomas and Simon are taken to the mountains where they are later put in a bus with other children. (This is only after they are watching the stars and an older lady [Geraldine Chaplin] joins them.) Finally, all three sets of people are in the same place, but because the place is filled with people, they just miss each other. And then, finally, Lucas greets his two younger brothers with open arms, they are no longer the pains they used to be. Then they meet up with Henry and Lucas takes them all to meet Maria, who is still in sorry shape.
She is then taken for another surgery and begs not to be put under general anesthesia. She survives. The family is able to fly on home. All is well. 
The family is powerful and filled with the most realistic settings and special effects ever. There is almost a documentary feel to the film. Also the performances are simply marvelous. Naomi Watts fully deserved her Oscar nomination. Tom Holland (for Best Actor) and Ewan McGregor (for Best Supporting Actor, always underrated) certainly also deserved nominations in a crowded field as the roles they took on were anything but easy. You won't forget this film or the incredible odds this family had to overcome. They overcame the impossible and lived to tell the story.
The only problem at all that I had with the film came at the very end. There is no epilogue. The audience will never know what happened to the family, if Maria managed to keep her leg or anything like that. That killed me. Perhaps the reason why that happened was because the family was really from Spain but instead were played by famous white actors.
Nevertheless, the film is amazing. The family had to survive the unthinkable tsunami, and then the rubble and then the crude medical treatments in a third-world country in unclean conditions. Yet, they survived and for that I'm grateful. It's impossible not to cry during this treasure of real life overcoming all obstacles thrown in their way. Grade: A