The time is fast approaching… the eager awaited album of the French duo Daft Punk is just a week away. On the 21st May we will be able to travel back in time on a huge scale.

Daft Punk emerged from the enormous talent of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, who launched their astonishing home produced album, the glorious “Homework” in 1997. The album was an entire manual on how to have fun in a discotheque. “Around the world” was the soundtrack for carefree, unpretentious bash that the mysterious couple (who’ve had hidden faces since 1996) held in the backyard of the global dance scene.

But today’s party it’s very different in all senses. The advertising campaign they are using to get the new album out there is a splendid relic of the 90s, even 80s, (although I wasn’t there to see it that decade in person). Billboards, television commercials in the intermissions of the most watched programs in the U.S., the recent ad campaign for all of Daft Punk’s outfits designed by Hedi Slimane of fashion label Saint Laurent, press trips across the world for 20 minutes interviews (presumably without the helmets). All the flavours of the album so far appear to be a heartfelt homage to the golden age of funk and disco, paying tribute to great figures such as Giorgio Moroder and Quincy Jones. The extravaganza recalls the splendor of the music industry of yesteryear, with multi-million productions, 13 tracks albums and stellar collaborations (including Pharrell Williams, Julian Casablancas, Nile Rodgers and Panda Bear).

Who could have predicted the guys that produced discs in their bedrooms would go on to drive a campaign generating such expectation that their first single “Get Lucky” would reach number 1in the UK and on Spotify within a few hours of release. It seems the simple and catchy funk theme, with the seal of approval of Nile Rodgers (who runs the entire production), is a perfect hit for modern clubs, weddings and even christenings. A hit that appeals across the board. A blockbuster.

Here is the last episode of Random Access Memories by Paul Williams.

In the end, like it or not, the disc will serve as magnificent essay to the music industry about breathing new life into the old business, using old methods of production and promotion – much like the recent Bowie release.

We are all waiting for a recovery of the essences of musical fun and inspiration for a generation of artists born in the heat of this great idea that still squeeze.

It seems the world is waiting with baited breath, whether we’re old enough to remember funk the first time round or not, to see what the Gallic maestros have in store for us.

As they say themselves: “It’s always about following the unexpected.”

In a week where the news has been all about possible triple dip recessions and Luis Suarez’s vampiric tendencies, something which may have slipped under your radar, but which deserves its own share of attention, is the announcement that after over 30 years of tireless championing, Robert Redford is stepping down as chairperson of the Sundance Film Festival.

By 1981 Redford was one of the biggest names in Hollywood, but being such a nice man, he wanted to help others find their way in the ruthless and rapacious film industry, so he founded the Sundance Institute. Having gained its name from Redford’s hugely successful role in ‘Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid’ the Sundance Institute is a non-profit organisation dedicated to discovering new talent and to providing creative and financial support to not just all aspects of film making, but theatre and music too.

One of the Institute’s original directors was Redford’s wife’s cousin, Sterling Van Wagenen, who had co-founded the Utah/US Film Festival back in 1978 and had used his family connections to get Redford on the Festival’s board to help raise its profile. With the dual aim of showcasing independent American films whilst promoting Utah as a place for film-making, the Festival struggled financially despite its success. With this connection handily in place, the Utah Film Festival was taken over by the Sundance Institute in 1985 to become the Sundance Film Festival.

The Sundance Institute’s work is prodigious; Community Programs involve over 25,000 Utah residents each year, Theatre Program supports over 200 plays, Feature Film Program supports over 300 films, Documentary Film Program over 500, plus its Short Film, Film Music and Native American & Indigenous Programs. And then there is the Sundance Film Festival, which has grown into one of the most prestigious independent film festivals in the world, helping propel the directing careers of Jim Jarmusch (Stranger Than Paradise), Steven Soderberg (Sex, Lies and Videotape) and Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs) to name but a few. And of course, Sundance went on to inspire ditto’s ‘Sunrise Film Festival’ the UK’s largest online independent film festival.

That all takes some doing.

Mr Redford and your crew, we salute you!

Who has not had tough days, where have you needed to breath in and breath out more than once? If just the concept of ‘taking a deep, meditative breath’ can be helpful to settle your mind during a stressful day, before a meeting, or even checking an e-mail… then why not? Actually, one of the cheapest and most straightforward ways to deal with stress is through ‘mindfulness’, mind exercises to increase awareness of your well-being, like meditation.

The benefits of meditation in the 21^st century are the same as in the time of Buddha, but nowadays, in a world where stress can haunt us like a predator, relaxing our mind is vital to safeguarding our mental and physical health. And that’s because these methods are able to change the way we feel so dramatically that they can be measured biologically.

In the last decade the media and popular culture has given huge attention to ‘mindfulness’, and ‘being in the present moment’, to the extent that the book I’m reading at the moment “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle has been recognized as a major Best Seller in the last decade.

And the concept of a ‘gross national happiness index’, a measurement of the spiritual as well as material well-being of a country, an idea originating from Bhutan, is something which governments now respond to.

Extensive research has been done, and it has been proven that when you meditate, specific parts of the brain emits theta waves which relieve stress and produce a long-term reduction of anxiety; and not just that, it can increase mental ability, ignite the imagination and stimulate creativity, reduce pain, produce a state of euphoria and stimulate endorphin secretion!! All for free – what else can we ask for?

It is true that usually when we think about meditation what springs to mind are uncomfortable yogic positions, going ‘oohmm’, the inability to shut our everyday thoughts up, the lack of time to practice it, etc. It reminds me of exercising or playing a sport – it is tough at the beginning but once you get into it and you start to feel the benefits that you get, you do not want to stop. It makes you feel good!

This can be applied to the professional world too. I think that if companies want imaginativeness from their teams, they have to be willing to challenge the traditional ways of doing things, and meditation could be great one – happiness and productivity.

When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 minutes? Watch the TED talk by meditation expert Andy Puddicombe, who talks about how helpful can be for us every time our mind is empty of thoughts and full of awareness.

At first might seem like abstract or esoteric concepts to very productive use in the workplace so it could be worth a try.

A week ago, Thursday 28^th March, the country lost another of its many thespian ‘national treasures’, a hackneyed term which I use warmly for the actor Richard Griffiths OBE.

Despite looking every inch a luvvie, Richard’s background isn’t what you would have expected. Born to working class parents who were both deaf and growing up in industrial North Riding, (now North Yorkshire) he ‘fell into acting’ because he wasn’t able to be an artist. His early work in the 1970s was all on the stage, including with The Royal Shakespeare Company, where he was repeatedly typecast in rolls suited to his generous frame, something attributed to medication taken in childhood.

However his talent wasn’t ignored for too long, & after several bit-parts here and there his TV screen ‘debut in a proper role’ came in the last ever episode of The Sweeny in 1978. Further TV roles followed, from guest appearances in shows such as Minder, Inspector Morse & The Vicar of Dibley to lead roles such as the chef/detective Henry Crabbe in Pie In The Sky or Willie Whitelaw in Jeffrey Archer: The Truth. Stage success continued, including an Olivier, a Tony, a Drama Desk Award & an Outer Circle Critics Award for his portrayal of Hector, the teacher with a tad too much interest in ‘homework for the boys’ in Alan Bennett’s brilliant The History Boys.

Obviously it is Richard’s film roles which garnered the most fame, but the breadth of his résumé showcases his incredible versatility as well as his talent; Superman II, Chariots of Fire, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, Gandhi, The Naked Gun 2 ¹/₂: The Smell Of Fear, Sleepy Hollow, every Harry Potter film (as the nasty Uncle Dursley), Hugo and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides to name but a few.

But the role for which me & my kind will always revere him, which more than any other earned him that ‘national treasure’ moniker has to be Uncle Monty, the pompous and predatory yet slightly sad, gay uncle in Bruce Robinson’s classic, Withnail & I.

A wonderful film about two failing young actors, the acerbic and egocentric Withnail (Richard E.Grant) & compliant Marwood aka ‘I’ (Paul McGann). Trying to relieve the tedium of their unfulfilled lives, they decide to have a holiday at Uncle Monty’s ramshackle and rain soaked cottage in the country, the use of which Withnail procured for free with the suggestion to Uncle Monty of Marwood’s probable acceptance of amorous advances. Despite the ubiquitous despondency, the black humour and brilliance of Grant’s performance is a joy to behold, yet somehow Richard Griffiths manages to steal the show with a perfect blend of aesthete affectation, forlornness, fragility and slight seediness, eliciting empathy whilst simultaneously making your toes curl.

“The carrot is infinitely more fascinating than the geranium!”

Thank you Uncle Monty.

A month ago now the 4 oldies at ditto had the absolute pleasure of heading off to the Tate Modern for the opening night of Kraftwerk’s eight-day residency. Similar residencies have happened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York at the end of 2012 and at Kunstsammlung in Düsseldorf in January. Upcoming residencies at Tokyo’s Alaska Blitz and the Sydney Opera House along with appearance at Europe’s summer festivals as Kraftwerk milk their heritage for all they can.

I first saw Kraftwerk back in 1998 at the Sonar Festival when they were headlining the Saturday night. Although it was an absolute thrill to see their full stage show, robots and all, in front of 30,000 screaming fans, I thought afterwards that they were a parody of themselves. Despite really enjoying myself I did feel that I was watching a Kraftwerk tribute band. All the hits, all the performing robots, the 3 acts within the 1 show – it was Mama Mia without the ‘storyline’. But it was fantastic.

15 years have past and I have an unhealthy fascination towards old music (not being made by the kids) and a worse attitude towards young music (being made by kids). It is definitely influenced by my use of Spotify rather than buying music from record shops (please see my previous blog). So when Kraftwerk announced their MoMA gigs and soon after the Tate Modern it got me very excited. I tried to get out to New York but it was turning out to be too expensive. The ‘joy’ of going to Düsseldorf meant that everything was poised for the London gigs. As the BBC reported, the demand for Kraftwerk tickets broke the Tate’s website, but to our rescue came a friend who went and queued for nearly 5 hours (and moaned about it afterwards!) to get tickets for the opening night featuring Autobahn, Kraftwerk’s first album.

Early Kraftwerk gigs routinely took place in art galleries, emphasising the band’s conceptual distance from American rock music in 1970s. 40 years later, Kraftwerk find themselves in one of the world’s pre-eminent art galleries, one which used to be a power station, which is what Kraftwerk means in German. Could it get better?

I was so excited, I was amazed I didn’t pee myself! Tate created an auditorium in the top, sloped area of the Turbine Hall with a large stage and screen and lots of black cushions to sit on. The space held around 1,000 people, most of whom were of a kind – middle aged (with matching physiques) folically challenged and all fanatical followers – we knew why we were here and just how important Kraftwerk have been to mankind!!! Not only that but tonight’s performance was in 3D. Kraftwerk are as much about their presentation as they are about there music. Ever album cover is a great piece of considered design. Order and straight lines are everywhere and the quality of both live and projected imagery is immaculate and of the highest quality.

There has been loads of coverage of the concerts through out the press and social channels – it was very strange hearing Today, Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme talk at length about the significant of Kraftwerk and the residency alongside miles of previews and reviews and the expected meltdown that 6Music went into. YouTube has lots of footage from the all 8 gigs with my favourites including this one, and this one.

What did I think of the gig – they were brilliant. It could have been I am 14 years older or the fact we have played their catalogue to death in the studio. I did note that none of the young ones shared our passion in the week running up tot gig, in fact I am positive they thought most of what were constantly playing was rubbish and a million miles away from their latest beat combo. The 3D projections were the best I have ever seen – better than Life of Pi. They played all the good tracks from Autobahn and then a good hour of their greatest hits – nothing was missed out. It was amazing and left me in an eBay buying frenzy and going up to my wife singing an out of tune ‘we are the robots’. Best of all, look at my new top!!!

Or I will be in July! (cos my lovely girlfriend has got me tickets)

For those who haven’t heard, ‘The Book of Mormon (The Musical)’ is the first foray onto the live stage by Matt Parker & Trey Stone, those not-afraid-to-be-a-tad-controversial creators of ‘South Park’ & ‘Team America’.

Co-created with Robert Lopez (who co-wrote the 2003 success ‘Avenue Q’ with Jeff Marx), ‘The Book of Mormon’ opened on Broadway on the 24^th March 2011 and became, as they say, a smash hit. With sold out performances (counterfeit tickets were in circulation less than a month after the opening) and rave reviews, it garnered nine Tonys (Broadway’s Oscars) including Best Musical and a Grammy (American music industry’s Oscars) for Best Musical Theatre Album after achieving the #3 spot in the Billboard charts, the highest for a Broadway cast album in over 40 years.

For the back-story, the original Book of Mormon is the Holy Scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, whose members are known as Mormons. After a series of visions where an angel called Moroni brought ancient scripts which God gave him the power to translate (The Book of Mormon), Joseph Smith (who they revere as a prophet) founded the Church on the 6^th April 1830 in New York State.

Mormons preach from the Christian Bible as well, but believe that their Church is as Jesus had intended and that other forms of Christianity have lost their way. More left-field, they believe that Jesus Christ rose and visited the Americas and that this is where the New Jerusalem (Zion) will be built (hey – I believe Newcastle United will one day win something, it doesn’t get madder than that!). Mormons have a great passion for spreading their word, their sunny and passive dispositions being of great help for their Missionaries in dealing with the many rebuttals as they go doorstepping in smartly dressed pairs. And this is where Parker, Stone & Lopez step in…

An unashamedly razzle-dazzle song-and-dance spectacle, filled with subversiveness, vulgarity and wonderfully inappropriate humour, ‘The Book of Mormon’ has been hailed as “Shrewd, profane, remarkably well-crafted and wholly hilarious” (Chicago Tribune), “Fearlessly offensive and smart as hell” (The Guardian) and “Unafraid of just about anything. The perfect musical” (Entertainment Weekly). So you know what to expect – don’t take the kids! (can you imagine the questions…)

A tale of two well-meaning but naïve Mormon missionaries who travel to Uganda to spread the word to the natives, but who are surprised to find that the locals consider poverty, famine, war and AIDS slightly more pressing concerns, this extravaganza is indiscriminate in its lampooning. Mormons, American culture, African culture, organized religion and traditional musicals in general plus more I’ve most certainly missed, are all sprayed with their cynicism to produce “the ultimate feel-good musical” (The Philadelphia Enquirer).

So now you know, lets all get singing:

“You all know the bible

Is made of Testaments old and new

You been told it’s just those two parts

Or only one if you’re a Jew…”

The Book of Mormon, at The Prince of Wales Theatre, Coventry Street, London W1D 6AS

http://www.bookofmormonlondon.com/home.php

How do you imagine death? We all know that it will happen but our imaginative efforts to understand something we don’t know become difficult, whether the attempt is cultural, religious or scientific.

More than once I’ve found myself curious about the dilemma of body and soul brought about by death. And more than that, I’ve always felt a kind weird fascination with death and the art surrounding it.

After few months starring at the tube posters I could not avoid feeling intrigued by Richard’s Harris collection of objects related to death at the Wellcome Collection.

Last Saturday I headed to the museum, to find an unusual mixture of medical artifacts and original artworks exploring ideas about the connections between medicine, life and art.

The current exhibition, Death: a Self-Portrait displays an inspirational collection of skulls, paintings, artifacts, murals and photographs that were even creeper than I expected.

There are works from popular names in art history — such as Rembrandt, Dürer, Goya and Jacques Callots.  They give an insight of death through the many diverse facets of living and humanity – love, war, science, art, dance, and even black humour. What a paradox to make reference to death through our life’s issues.

“Tampoco (Not this time either)” from Los Desastres de la Guerra (Disasters of war) by Francisco Goya, 1863

Amongst the most powerful works on show are Otto Dix’s War etchings. The German expressionist painter presents a huge collection of prints depicting the horrors of World War I trench warfare.

Despite the fact that some works were hard to look at, I appreciated that this ‘self portrait’ of death provided an historical approach to the theme of death in art, offering perspectives of how humans have adopted concepts and ideas of their own mortality.

Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas by Otto Dix, 1924

In the last part of the exhibition, it is impressive how the geographical diversity of objects on show represents the contradictory attitudes different cultures have towards death.

 ’When Shall We Meet Again?’, c.1900

For me the best way to live with it is by following Gandhi’s popular quote:

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

Death: A Self Portrait at the Wellcome Collection, London, until 24 February 2013. Admission is free.

Carpe Diem

The distribution and consumption of films has seismically changed over the last couple of years with new products or services coming to market nearly every month with their next exciting offering.

As we know, it started with iTunes and YouTube changing the way we bought or rented and then watched films, either being downloaded or streamed directly to computers and laptops. With the advent of faster home broadband and playback technology becoming ubiquitous, the market became busier with Netflix, LoveFilm, Google Play and Apple TV streaming films on-demand directly to TVs, games consoles or mobile devices. The market has carried on increasing with new services focused on apps for Smart TVs or mobile apps including ACE-Trax, Ultra-Violet, Hulu Plus and Vudu.

Similarly UK broadcasters have produced apps allowing their content to be watched directly on smartphones and tablets. BBC iPlayer app allows for both on-demand as well as downloadable content, along with Sky Go, Channel 4’s 4OD and Channel 5’s Demand 5 apps. Sky’s memberships allows for 2 mobile devices to be associated with 1 membership. Interestingly Sky and Channel 4 do not allow you to attach the mobile device to a TV to watch the content on the app. For Sky this of course stops the device becoming an alternative set up box but there is a lot of noise on their forums from their customers wanting to change this restriction.

With the growth of digital technology, existing film distribution practices are under review. Cinemas are undergoing a massive process of digitisation. Broadcasting services have evolved as a result of several technological developments: the switchover to digital, IPTV and the advent of over the top audiovisual services and internet connected TV enable consumers to access more and more non-linear services.

In addition, developments in consumer equipment have enabled people to access and create content anywhere anytime using mobile devices (tablets, laptops, smartphones).

In this complex and increasingly competitive landscape, content formats will be expected to evolve as well as the models of distribution. But the content filling these new channels is all very similar, mostly US Hollywood movies alongside a scattering of mainstream UK and non English language films. The most adventurous films you will currently find will be Berberian Sound Studio or 360. But what if we want more than a diet of these movies?

A new and exciting player to the landscape comes from the art-house cinema chain Curzon with their Curzon On-Demand service. Curzon On-Demand is on the web and digital platforms including Samsung’s SmartTV, with selected films on The Guardian’s digital platforms. Curzon On Demand presents ‘high-quality films’ on digital platforms for customers to watch when and where they want to, aiming to offer a true Home Cinema experience. Customers can see the same film programme they could experience in a public cinema, at the same time. Curzon On-Demand’s new releases are augmented by complementary titles from the same director and/or featuring the same actors or themes or genres, as well as Q&As with the actors and directors.

I have greedily used this new service and although I have experienced some user experience and technical problems, overall it has been a fantastic new film experience for my household. What is great is that I can watch some of the same films that Curzon have on public release without stepping out into the snow and cold as well as access to library to some of Europe’s best films. Issues that do need addressing include, you cannot watch films at HD quality, which is a slight contradiction because of the investment to put into digitalising cinemas, and some films have a playback issue with some of them returning to the beginning when you are well into the film.

Curzon On-Demand has been supported with a grant of €400,000 from MEDIA Programme Video on Demand & Digital Cinema Distribution fund. The fund’s main objective is to support the creation and exploitation of catalogues of European works to be distributed digitally across borders to a wider audience and/or to cinema exhibitors through advanced distribution services, integrating where necessary digital security systems in order to protect online content.

Other projects they have been funded by Video on Demand & Digital Cinema Distribution fund are medici.tv (on-demand classical music), filmin (dedicated to Spanish films) and EuroVoD is a European federation of Video on Demand platforms (specialising in independent cinema).

The future of the distribution and consumption of films at home will carry on radically changing, and we’ll be in the audience.

This Friday the 18^th, I’m there!

For those of you who have just recently returned from outer space, ‘Django Unchained’ is Quentin Tarantino’s predictably violent take on the Western genre, and is (to quote the studio spiel) set in the South of the United States two years before the start of the American Civil War (that’ll be 1859, for those who are wondering). Jamie Foxx is Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owner lands him face-to-face with the German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (played by the fantastic Christopher Waltz, the scary Nazi in ‘Inglorious Basterds’). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive.

Now I said previously that this film would be ‘predictably violent’. This is for three obvious reasons, 1) it’s a western, and the given perception is that the Wild West was a hard, lawless land where violence was the norm 2) it’s a Tarantino film & 3) it’s a commercial film made for profit, & glorified violence sells.

But releasing in the US less than two weeks after the horrific murders of children and teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut USA which gave a renewed focus on the omnipresence of glorified violence in popular culture today, be it films, video games or music, Tarantino and his work ended up under the spotlight again for influencing such atrocities. (Unfortunately missing the more obvious point of the idiocy of permitting depressed or unstable people easy access to semi-automatic weapons, but that’s just my opinion.) Indeed when asked about his penchant for graphic violence during an interview for Channel Four News, this evidently being one time too many, Tarantino lost his cool.

Now please don’t get me wrong, I am not (for once) astriding my high horse to join the vociferous chorus bemoaning the ever-increasing prevalence of violence in films today. Indeed I too enjoy a good old action movie with all the ensuing fights and explosions, as long, as I have just said, it is good! What I do bemoan is the ever-increasing prevalence of crap films, invariably using gratuitous violence (and possibly the glimpse of a bum or two) as their only selling point. To my mind Tarantino’s films are certainly not this. They are well-conceived, well-written and well-crafted works with a much more intelligent and engaging dialogue than you would find in many a supposed ‘more high-brow’ film. And they are always enjoyable. (Yes, even ‘Death Proof’, and not just because of Vanessa Ferlito’s rather tight pants)

However, if you want to watch a Western without all guns a-blazing then rent or buy (but don’t illegally download!) the best Western ever made, ‘Dead Man’, by the genius that is Jim Jarmusch.

Filmed in black and white (which somehow manages to make Johnny Depp look even more sexy!) in that distinctive, deliberate, dilatory Jarmusch style, this is a tale about an unemployed accountant who becomes the most unlikely, and most unprepared, of outlaws who, out of necessity, ends up teaming up with the most useless of Indians.

This is more what the Wild West was like, a great story beautifully shot, really funny and with respectful poignancy towards the treatment of Native Americans. With Mr. Depp as the main man and Gary Farmer as Nobody the useless Indian, this film has cameos from John Hurt, Robert Mitchum, Billy Bob Thornton, Gabriel Byrne, Iggy Pop (as a cross-dressing trapper – it’s worth watching for this scene alone!), Alfred Molina, Jared Harris and loads more faces you’ll recognize.

While you’re waiting for Django, watch this!

‘The Impossible’ tells the powerful and true story of a Spanish family’s fight for survival during the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Following the Belon family on their Christmas Holiday, director Juan Antonio Bayona doesn’t waste anytime on building up the story before the wave hits. Splitting the family into two we follow mother Maria (Naomi Watts) and eldest son Lucas (Tom Holland) through their perseverance and turmoil of being washed inland by 2 gigantic waves. Eventually, they head for a tree where they will be safe from any more harm, mother and son turn into unexpected equals with Holland giving an excellent performance of young Lucas beginning a brave race to help save his mother.

Screenwriter Sergio Sanchez and Bayona, worked closely with the real Maria and Lucas to try and give the best and most realistic take of their experience. Featuring very little CGI Watts and Holland were both put into water and thrashed around creating an unbearable desperation and bringing the audience to the edge of their seats and gasping for breath until they both reach the surface of the wave.

Joining Henry and younger sons Thomas and Simon, we follow his struggle to find his wife and eldest son at the same time as trying to keep Thomas and Simon safe. The dreaded moment arrives when Henry sends his 2 younger sons to the mountains with other survivors so he is able to stay behind to search for Maria and Lucas is the nail biting moment you fear that they will struggle to be reunited again. With a single phone call to his in-laws McGregor conveys the heartache, devastation and fear that he may not find Lucas and Maria, but will do everything he can to try.

Based on one of the world’s worst natural disasters, Bayona encompasses moments of happiness and devastation to other families and people who live in Thailand. Reuniting some families and leaving others with the dreaded realisation those family members may be lost forever, ‘The Impossible’ keeps you in full suspense to whether the Belon family will be one of the lucky ones to reunite as one again. This epic disaster film shows a small insight into what thousands faced on Boxing day 2004 and is a heart wrenching story of a how this catastrophic wave effected so many.