The Impossible

Summary

A searing depiction of one family ’s conflict to go the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami , The Impossiblehas viewers wonder what Naomi Watts ' Maria coughs up in one memorable scenery . ground on the harrowing tangible - life experience of María Belón and her family , the film centers on the Bennetts , who manoeuvre to a holiday resort in Khao Lak , Thailand for Christmas . A few 24-hour interval into their trip , Maria , her married man , Henry ( Ewan McGregor ) , and the couple ’s three sons — Lucas ( Tom Holland ) , Simon ( Oaklee Pendergast ) , and Thomas ( Samuel Joslin ) — discover their holidayupended by the massive 2004 tsunamithat devastated Thailand .

A surprisal box - office hit , The Impossiblegarnered $ 198.1 million against a $ 45 million budget , impressing looker with its mixed bag of digital and practical effects . The disaster drama also saw Watts earning an Academy Award nominating address and sparked reincarnate interest inwhat encounter toThe Impossible ’s actual family . Despite its success , The Impossiblewas criticized for being overly spectacular and for whitewashing a real - life sentence calamity . Over a decade later , the 2012 plastic film endures , with new and generate viewer still wondering howthe film team wield to create such believable set - pieces , from the tsunami itself to a memorable view where Watts ' Maria cough up rubble .

Maria Vomits Up The Debris & A Plant Vine She Inhaled In The Water

After the unexpected tsunami hit the seacoast of Thailand , Watts ' Maria is dragged under the water . The startling sequence sees Maria resurfacing and getting pulled back down several times , flailing against the massive fashion plate of urine . finally , she manages to escape the web site of her near - drowning and reunite with one of her Logos , Holland ’s Lucas . Together , the female parent - boy duo seek condom — and the rest of their family members — all while navigate the many jeopardy and obstacles the flood lamp cast at them . Much like the material - life María , Watts suffers an injured leg , but that ’s not even the most distressing proceeds to befall the tsunami subsister .

Sönke Möhring stars as Karl Schweber , a German adult male search for his kinsfolk , in the 2012 disaster film The Impossible . Is Karl based on a real person ?

In one scene , Maria and Lucas are invite some much - needed medical care when Maria starts cough up blood and be sick up debris . " The doctors said I was underwater for over three min because my lungs were full of water , " the real - life María think in an audience withThe Mirror . That clock time pass underwatercaused Maria to inhale all sorting of organic matter , including a works vine . In the setting , Naomi Watts struggles to pull the vine and other detritus from her throat , much to Lucas ' horror . It ’s an incredibly visceral scene — and one that illustrates an experience not many folks would consociate with being a tsunami subsister .

The Impossible - Poster

What The Impossible Really Used To Film Naomi Watts' Coughing Scene

The Impossiblemovie is an accurate true - storydepiction — aright down to illustrating the complications Maria faced after being submerse for rough three minute . At first , it seems like the most imminent threats to Maria and Lucas ' safety are their more visible , forcible injury . However , that changes once Maria starts cough profligate and chuck organic plant matter . To simulate what happened to the film ’s real - life story counterpart , Watts coughed up blackberry bush jamand rend a piece of string from her mouth . A great employment of practical upshot , The Impossibleturns the sorry moment into one of its most memorable setting .

seed : The Mirror

Naomi Watts and Tom Holland embrace in the water while in fear in The Impossible

Naomi Watts underwater in The Impossible

Tom Holland as Lucas, Naomi Watts as Maria, and Sönke Möhring as Karl in The Impossible.

A disheveled Naomi Watts lying down in The Impossible

The Impossible