'The Impossible' dir. Juan Antonio Bayona

Not for those of a squeamish or sensitive disposition, The Impossible spends most of its running time alternating between brutal depictions of emergency medicine and heart wrenching family splits or reunions.

Based on the true story of a Spanish family in the aftermath of the 2004 Asian Tsunami, this film, set in Thailand, instead depicts a British family suffering the same fate and it is unsparing in its take on the damage of a colossal natural disaster.

Naomi Watts plays the Mother, Maria, who finds herself split from the rest of her family with the exception of her eldest son, Lucas. After the Tsunami hits, she is badly injured. The film then largely follows her quest for medical assistance in the chaotic days following the wave.

Meanwhile, Ewan McGregor's Henry (the father) managed to keep hold of the two younger boys and get them to safety. He spends his time thereafter looking for a place to give them shelter. Once this is achieved, he sets off in search of his missing wife and eldest son.

Lucas (played with panache by Tom Holland) is a boy filled with decent intentions. Once his mother is taken to hospital, he attempts to reunite as many families as he is capable of when the overstretched hospital staff do not have time to do so. It is the first of many attempts by the film to establish a sentimental subtext.

In the background to all this is a strange, European dominated take on the Tsunami. Whilst many of the people who assist the family are of Thai origin, what becomes of the local victims of the disaster is somewhat skated over. I can therefore understand why some other reviews have pointed out that this may be evidence of a slight Colonial bias.

However, even though it is told from the perspective of a Westerner, the film persistently covers the point that the family recognise the advantages they have and how they were briefly stripped from them by a freak event. It did not seem overly patronising to those who lived with the aftermath.

The Impossible's greatest weakness is that it makes too much of its moments of hope as tone of the film veers towards saccharine sweetness, not that it is not a moving and interesting tale but it weighs in too heavily with the emotional hits for comfort.

Nonetheless, the action scenes are well balanced and the acting is for the most part impressive and despite some fairly redundant arty moments, Bayona largely does the script justice.

A non-fiction tale that is well told but that has been given too much of a Hollywood veneer to be as watchable as it might have been.