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Andrew Allred

Professor Laura Podratz

Physical Geography 1000

18 December 2020

The Impossible: Surviving the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami

The Impossible is a heart-wrenching disaster drama that details how María Belón

(played by Naomi Watts as Maria Bennet) and her family survived the 2004 Indian

Ocean Tsunami. Belón and her family were vacationing in Thailand for Christmas when

an unexpected magnitude 9.1-9.3 earthquake struck off the west coast of northern

Sumatra, Indonesia. Thailand and many of the surrounding landscapes were quickly hit

by a series of tsunamis—some with waves reaching as high as 100ft. The film follows

Belón’s family as they struggle to survive the inflicted injuries and displacement caused

by one of these massive waves.

Before the damage and destruction, however, the Bennet’s embarked on what

they thought was a standard family vacation. The film starts with Maria Bennett and her

family on a plane traveling to Thailand. They arrive and spend their time enjoying a

resort getaway filled with drinks, local food, playing on the beach with their children, and

taking part in a lantern festival to release floating lanterns into the sky. It seems like a

typical vacation until they notice some soft rumbling while poolside on the morning of

the 26th. Shortly after, a massive wall of water comes crashing through the trees.

Everyone in the area is crushed by the wave and thrown into turmoil. Maria and her son

Lucas emerge from the depths a moment later and are then carried inland by the flooding

water. Both of them are on the brink of drowning and sustain considerable injuries.
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Eventually, the water subsides and their journey to safety begins. The story then follows

Lucas trying to help his injured mother to safety as they traverse muddy, debris-filled

landscapes, ultimately landing them at a local hospital where Maria nearly dies due to her

injuries.

During the flooding, Maria’s husband Henry (played by Ewan McGregor) and

two of their boys become separated and begin the task of trying to reunite their family.

After a significant amount of time, Henry and the other boys eventually find Maria and

Lucas at the hospital. Though Maria is on the verge of death, doctors are able to save her

life with emergency surgeries and a partial leg amputation.

One of the greatest achievements of The Impossible is its accuracy. María Belón

was actually brought in to work with director J. A. Bayona and screenwriter Sergio G.

Sánchez to ensure that her survival story was told with precision. According to Belón, 99

percent of what is seen throughout the film actually happened.1 With little room for the

typical Hollywood overdramatization, Sánchez was able to craft a terrifying account of

what María lived through after the first wave hit them. Bayona’s work on the tsunami

itself has been described as a masterpiece of disaster filmmaking.2 The destructive power

of water portrayed in this film leaves the audience feeling battered and bruised.

Part of the reason the storyline was so effective is because of the reality of this

event. Many doomsday or natural disaster movies approach the line of fantasy due to

their unbelievably exciting events. The Impossible, however, showcases, and nearly

matches, the tsunami as it was originally recorded in 2004. A 2007 study from the

1
Dawson, Angela. Nothing Is ‘Impossible’ For Maria Belon. 3 Jan. 2013,
web.archive.org/web/20130112080836/frontrowfeatures.com/2013/01/nothing-is-impossible-for-maria-belon/.

2
https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/jan/03/reel-history-the-impossible
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Journal of Geophysical Research details how scientists modeled the earthquake and

following tsunami through seismic data, satellite imagery, lab simulations, and onsite

film/imagery. They describe typical tsunami behaviors such as the water changing color

and withdrawing to the sea, followed by bay-length waves approaching from a distance.3

The imagery of landscape damage and footage available of the actual event match almost

perfectly with the depictions onscreen.

Unfortunately, the impacts of this disaster were felt locally and abroad. The death

toll reached 227 thousand and displaced another 1.8 million people throughout dozens of

countries. Many of the local fishing communities lost the basic resources needed for self-

sustainability and were left with nothing but the looming fear of another tsunami.4 While

government aid was available and helpful in some instances, it was not enough; the local

economy was severely damaged. The overall cost of damages is estimated at $9.4

billion.5 While the impact of the tsunami left local prospects looking incredibly bleak,

global humanitarian aid reached over $14 billion, making it the largest and one of the

most efficient international responses to a natural disaster in human history.6

With most natural disaster films, the excitement of the event can be stressful,

exhilarating, and incredibly intense. The Impossible encompasses all of those feelings

3
Ioualalen, M., et al. “Modeling the 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: Case Study of Impact in Thailand.” Journal
of Geophysical Research, vol. 112, no. C7, 2007, doi:10.1029/2006jc003850.

4
Rodriguez, Havidan, et al. “A Snapshot of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: Societal Impacts and Consequences.” Disaster
Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 15, no. 1, 2006, pp. 163–177.,
doi:10.1108/09653560610654310.

5
Athukorala, Prema-Chandra. “Indian Ocean Tsunami: Disaster, Generosity and Recovery.” Asian Economic Journal, vol. 26,
no. 3, 2012, pp. 211–231., doi:10.1111/j.1467-8381.2012.02083.x.

6
Athukorala, Prema-Chandra. “Indian Ocean Tsunami: Disaster, Generosity and Recovery.” Asian Economic Journal, vol. 26,
no. 3, 2012, pp. 211–231., doi:10.1111/j.1467-8381.2012.02083.x.
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with a sobering reminder of how powerful our oceans truly are. The devastation caused

by this event is heartbreaking to witness, but the subsequent global response is also a

clear example of how united our world can be in the face of adversity and suffering. All

in all, I’d say the movie was a success.