Film TrackingThe Impossible

What is the film about?

For this assignment I will be tracking the film The Impossible; it is an English- language Spanish drama film based on a true life story about one family's experience of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. It begins with the family (parents and three children) spending their Christmas vacation in Thailand, however the atmosphere doesn't stay relaxing and perfect for long. because on 26th December 2004 their vacation is interrupted by the Tsunami; it brings devastation, destroying everything in it's way. The family are separated, the father with two children and the mother with one; we see determination of their strength as they struggle to find each other. This is an emotional story which shows the true beauty of love and how it will get you

through anything.  

Classification

The film has been certificated as a 12A; this means the film is suitable for 12 years and over. The film would have ‘pushed’ for a 12A certificate to enable it to expand their target audience and in turn increasing their box office rates, it also means they are able to add a range of dread and terror without being overwhelming or to much for the audience.

Release Dates

The film has been set to be released around winter and New year. This is because many people will be on holiday over the winter period and are more likely to go out to the cinema either with family or friends. The New Year also brings a time of celebration and getting together, therefore a cinema will be a perfect day out.

The Distributors

The fact the film has well-known Distributors means it already has an audience E.g. Most Warner Brothers films have been highly successful, therefore the audience will trust that this is another interesting and worthy film to see. Having a foreign market also increases the box office figures and spreads the costs of the film throughout, meaning the outcome for all that take part will be cheaper.

The Production Company

The film was a co-production of Spanish film companies Apaches Entertainment and Telecinco Cinema. The employed most of the crew from the film The Orphanage because of it’s high success. Having a good Production Company is a key start to a successful film because it expands the audience which increases the box office figures. A well-known successful production company will also mean it will be easily recognized and instantly widen the audience.

The inspiration

The film was inspired by the true story of a family who survived the Tsunami, the idea was first brought to life when the producers over-heard the story on the radio and decided to look further in to this miraculous story.

Director

The film was directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, he has directed television commercials and music videos but he is mostly known for his directing of the horror film ‘The Orphanage’ – The fact this film had high success means the director will already have a preset audience, which increases the audience and contributes to the box office figures.

Juan Antonio Bayona

Also Directed…

Juan Antonio Bayona has directed a range of subjects, this means he has had good experience and this will translate in the outcome of the film. I feel this also presents he will create a successful outcome and means his audience will rely on him which will then increase the audience of The Impossible.

WritersThe film was written by Sergio G. Sanchez and Maria Belon. They worked together to create the screen play, Sergio had to be very experienced because of high expectations from Maria and to represent the real aspects of the story. However the story was told by Maria Belon, I like the fact she was describing the experience of struggle and emotion because she is able to give great detail of the event as she was there. This means the film would portray a sense of realism because people had really gone through the trauma, it also gives the sense of inspiration because the family showed determination to find one another and it shows how miracles do exist.

Main Actors

Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts takes the role of Maria Bennett in corresponding to the real Maria Belon. Her acting skills would have to portray real emotion in order to capture the strength and courage of the character. – “Her expressive face of a silent movie star.” The fact the film is based on a true inspirational story means Naomi would have to create a sense of realism in order to engage the audience and present impact of the devastation the Tsunami formed.

Naomi Watts

Previously in...Naomi Watts has had many years of experienced which contributes to her understanding of the role she is presenting. This also contributes to the knowledge of the audience about her ability to portray a character and will encourage them to see the film. She has also played a leading role in King Kong and 21 Grams in which emotion had to be strong and engage the audience.

Relationship between actors

Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor had previously worked together and played the role of a relationship in the film ‘Stay’ – this meant they worked well together and could portray a real married couple in which their love for each other had to be strongly expressed and their determination to find each other becomes over whelming. Many of the extras in the film are in fact actual survivors of the Tsunami.

Ewan McGregor

Ewan McGregor is taking the role of Henry Bennett, the actor has an OBE which immediately shows his professionalism and talent to portray a character. He has been in many films in which his versatility is shown. The fact he is a well known actor suggests a reliable actor to the audience because they already know he will contribute to the success of the film and may also persuade people to watch The Impossible.

Tom Holland

Tom Holland is a young British actor who has played Michael in Billy Elliot the musical, he went on to audition for the role of Lucas Bennett; because of his success in the film his name is becoming more recognisable. However before hand I don’t feel he was that well – known therefore presented a believable character of Lucas. He has since been signed to William Morris Endeavor global talent agency because of his pure determination pursued throughout the film.

Samuel Joslin Oaklee pendergast These two young actors take the roles of Thomas and Simon Bennett. They have had small on screen roles such as Oaklee presenting Felix in Eastenders and appearing in Casualty. However they are not well-known which makes their innocence and bravery of their roles seem real and creates emotion for the audience.

Genre

The film has been placed under three genres Action, Drama and Thriller; the action as presented through the huge flood in which people struggle to survive. Thriller because throughout the film the audience is unsure what is going to happen E.g. We do not find out about the survival of the father until 40minutes into the film. There is also and enigma of the audience – Will the family survive and be reunited? This anticipation draws you in to the film, making you apart of the atmosphere. And the genre drama is presented through the fact the film is based on a true story and follows the lives of a family.

Action Drama Thriller

Advertisement

The advertisement of the film consists of posters in populated locations, TV ads, trailers etc. This educates people about the film, it also widens the audience and creates a ‘buzz’ – this consists of people talking about the recent advertisement they have seen in which a ‘chain’ is created between people spreading the word about the new fantastic film.

The Trailer

The trailer immediately presents the viewing age which gives and indication of the target audience.

The distributor is then shown.

Location is presented.

Family is shown which represents the genre of drama.

Main characters are the shown which will widen the target audience if they favour a actor/actress.

The simple words express the true story but the strong word of ‘tragedy’ presents the film will involve devastation which create and effective emotion to the audience.

Rush of flying birds represent escape, but the fact they are black connote death which creates a juxtaposition between the white clouds behind them which could present a sign of hope but also the innocence of the Tsunami victims.

Track in shows how the Tsunami is getting closer but also the realism of losing his oldest son as he screams his name “Lucas”.

The long shot of Lucas holding the ball he had retrieved shows his astonishment of the huge wave, unable to move his dad screams his name. The fact he is still holding the ball in a fearful environment juxtaposes with the shot before of them happily playing with it in a calm, joyful setting. The red connotes blood which soon becomes realised in the next scene.

These words draw me into the film because it made me question how it was possible to survive when comparing them to the scene before of crashing waves easily removing palm trees.

When father and sons are reunited it gives the audience a sign of hope.

Mother and son reaching for each other represent the themes of love and strength.

Official selection logo is then shown – this shows the success of the film.

As the trailer continues it presents strength, courage and the continuous hope of the characters; this draw me into the trailer and made me want to go and see the whole story; the fact the trailer showed there is a happy ending suggests a the questioning of how? Throughout the film.

The main actor and actress is then shown, this widens the target audience because they are well-known and already have ‘fans’ behind them.

The title of the film is then shown last so it will stay in your mind.

Production and Filming

The recreation of the Tsunami took a year to form because of the extensive materials and effects needed to make it as real as possible. The filming of this scene then took ten minutes and needed to be captured first time which meant the actors/actresses had to be reliable in order to capture a perfect atmosphere.

The Success

Because the film was released all around the world the success of it just keeps increasing. The film was a big hit in Brazil, France and Mexico and is soon to have more high box office figures when later released in Asia. The film hasn’t been as successful in America because they are not keen on drama films.

The Premiere

The premiere consisted of the actors and actresses but also the real, inspirational survivors. This shows the relationship formed between the actors and survivors.

FeedbackThis rating is taken from the IMDb website in which the users rated the film, From the information received it shows how many people like the film. However I discovered some people didn’t enjoy the way in which it was told.Reactions…

Response from victims

• Response from tsunami victims

• Simon Jenkins, a survivor of the tsunami had written to The Guardian, stating the film is "beautifully accurate". This was in response to critics commenting that the movie is "overdramatic" and "whitewashed". He says of the cynical comments, "As I must reiterate, I've never been the sort of person to revisit and analyse events of the past, but some of these articles frustrated me. Had this film been purely about the tale of a western middle-class family's "ruined" holiday then I would have agreed. For me, it was the exact opposite. Rather than concentrating on the "privileged white visitors", the film portrayed the profound sense of community and unity that I experienced in Thailand, with this family at the centre of it. Both for my (then) 16-year-old self and the Belon family, it was the Thai people who waded through the settled water after the first wave had struck to help individuals and families....The Thai people had just lost everything – homes, businesses, families – yet their instinct was to help the tourists".[22]

• The London Daily Mail reported that British survivors of the Indian Ocean tsunami felt "horrified," "ambushed," and were reduced to tears by the film's trailer, which was screened in cinemas prior to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Tsunami Support UK, a support group for survivors of the tsunami, lobbied to have the trailer screened with a warning notice beforehand. A spokesman for Odeon Cinemas stated that it had no control over the content of the BBFC-approved trailer, saying, "We can only apologise for any offence caused on this occasion."[

(Sourced from Wikipedia)I feel the film would be highly disturbing for the victims because it doesn’t let them forget. However it also shows the world how devastating a natural disaster can be, but also how people come together.

My Opinion

Overall I found the research into this film interesting because I didn’t realise how a drama could be created to capture such a realistic atmosphere in which themes of love, strength and courage are presented. The world wide success also captures how the world engages in real life stories. I feel the box office figures will also be increased because it has yet to be released in all planned locations. Therefore this film has been highly successful and shown how a devastating disaster can have a small but positive outcome.