Mise En Scène: Lighting and Cinematography This week I have elected to dissect one of the most raw depictions of cinematic magic I have had the privilege of viewing. The excellent 2012 film directed by Juan Antonio Bayona The Impossible. This is a disaster movie in all formulaic regards, but it is also so much more. The Impossible is a powerful portrayal based on the true story of the Belon family vacationing in Thailand when the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated the country. Starring acclaimed actors Naomi Watts as Maria Belon and Ewan McGregor as Henry Belon, the film depicts the events leading up to and following the tragic natural disaster that occurred December 26, 2004.
Personally this one of the most frightening scenes I have ever seen. What could possibly be more frightening than an event so powerful, so all consuming, so destructive, and so potentially possible of occurring again? The tsunami scene begins in natural daylight. The family is enjoying a beautiful sunny family pool day together. The sun is shining on the vacation resort in what is portrayed as a day, not unlike any other. With hardly a warning, however, a distant roar can be heard. A wide-angle lens shot presents to the audience what the families lounging by the pool have just become aware of in sharp terrifying focus. In seconds the pool goers can see the source of the sound, an advancing 100 ft. wave. There is hardly a moment for them to comprehend what they are seeing, much less to react, when the deadly wave hits the shore and sends people and debris swirling and crashing into each other.
Trees, cars, twisted unrecognizable scraps of metal, children, and adults, all are indiscriminately thrown and carried by the wave for what seems like miles. It is unfathomable to think that Maria, Henry, their children, or anyone else could possibly survive such an ordeal. We see people clinging to trees, we hear incoherent screams, and children crying. Thrown underneath the water’s surface we are experiencing the horror with Maria and Lucas. The underwater shots depict dark shadowy swirling chaos. Frightening in the confusion. Previously non-threatening objects (e.g. twigs, stones) and huge heavy structures (e.g. cars, telephone poles, trees) propelled by the dangerous force. Everything is potentially injurious. Most everything has been destroyed and in being so has also become destructive.
The phone call scene is a particularly powerful scene in which Henry (Ewan McGregor) calls a family member back home in Spain in the hopes that his wife or son have called. At this point he is unsure if his wife and eldest son survived the wave. The lighting reflects this somber tone. In contrast to many other key moments in the film, this scene is at night. Cinematographers use the mise en scène tactic of the three-point lighting style. A dim ambience glows behind Henry, the background blurred out of focus, while backlighting frames him from behind. He is illuminated from front on either side as well. Though the scene is almost unbearable to watch because of this style of lighting we get a sense of his determination. Not far beneath, however, lingers his stark uncertainty. The shadows on his face seem to enhance this ambience. We almost feel him waiver in defeat, then immediately grasp that bit of hope that will ultimately propel him to find his family. He tells the person on the other end that he will find his wife and son, almost as though he is making that resolve within himself. Although the movie follows the Belon family, we see the same look on the other character’s faces in this scene. This experience was not specific to this family alone. Many people were lost in the tsunami, many families are moving to find their loved and lost ones. This is more a film about human endurance than it is merely a film of one of the most devastating natural disasters of modern times.
The Reunion scene again begins in stark bright daylight. Had we been present I imagine this is the way in which we would have witnessed the family reunite. Director Juan Antonio Bayona preserves the realistic tone of this emotional part of the film. Making it all the more believable. The sun is shining as it was before the tsunami’s arrival. However, in this scene, the happiness that the sunlight implies is reflected in our character’s emotional states. This is a happy scene. Brothers reunite with a joyous embrace and by a fortunate chance of luck, Lucas spots his father Henry as well. The reunion is made complete, by Lucas’ statement that “Mom is here.” They find Maria in the hospital bed. However, her condition is severe, at first we are unsure if she is even living. The mood is set by a darkening of light in the hospital room. Although still borrowing from the naturally sunlit scene before, this time the sunlight seems slightly filtered. Angled lighting enhances the shadows on Maria’s face. Accentuating her pale, bruised, and grey skinned face. She obviously has lost a lot of blood and looks as though she has contracted a serious infection as well in the understaffed and overcrowded hospital facility. Coloring in this scene is also at a minimal, from the bedding to clothing, the scene’s colors are muted. Although the family is finally all together at last, it is marked with uncertainty. Maria seems to have given up fighting for her life.
Although our Belon family survived this terrible ordeal, the earthquake-induced tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004 resulted in at least 155,000 fatalities, 500,000 injuries, and damages that exceeded $10 billion. It is estimated that 5 million people lost their homes and access to food and water. Despite a lag of up to several hours between the earthquake and the impact of the tsunami, nearly all of the victims were taken completely by surprise because there was no warning systems to detect tsunamis or to warn the general populace living around the ocean. The shifting of the earth’s plates in the Indian Ocean caused a rupture more than 600 miles long, displacing the seafloor above the rupture by approximately 10 yards horizontally and several yards vertically. As a result, trillions of tons of rock were moved along hundreds of miles and caused the planet to shudder with the largest magnitude earthquake in 40 years. Within hours of the 9.0 earthquake, devastating waves radiating from the epicenter and slammed into the coastline of 11 Indian Ocean countries, damaging countries from east Africa to Thailand. The December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was caused by an earthquake that is thought to have had the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs (2005).
References: Movies Coming Soon, (2012). The Impossible Extended CLIP – The Wave – Ewan McGregor Movie HD. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPWY_Aqg7uU&src_vid=BDOGWCELXA8&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_736836 101Spoileralert101, (2013). The Impossible Full Tsunami Edit 2013. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qryJaTbASs0 Movies Coming Soon, (2012). The Impossible Movie CLIP – Phone Call (2012) – Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts Movie HD. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrnJqvhfvqI Dino4Lalo, (2013). The Impossible (Reunion). [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChfJQvbkRDI Author Unknown, (2005). The Deadliest Tsunami in History? National Geographic News Web Source. January 7, 2005. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1227_041226_tsunami.html
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