The story of a family, with Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts as the parents, that ends up separated during a tsunami. Their struggle to survive and reunite gets a thrillingly dramatic treatment in the hands of Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage). Both heart wrenching elements — the powerful rendering of a natural catastrophe and the aftermath, in which the family seeks against all odds to reconnect — create the fullest notion of impossibility, which makes the inevitable conclusion that much more likely to overwhelm audiences, especially in light of the recent spate of natural disasters and our “near miss” with the Mayan calendar end of the world predictions. Now in theaters. (PG-13) Not screened for review
