MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
ClassyWas
Excellent, smart action film.
Breakinger
A Brilliant Conflict
Hayleigh Joseph
This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.
MaDsKiLz69
If you enjoyed crash you will undoubtedly enjoy this. Similar story - similar structure - similar music.If your into films in any way you'll appreciate the that the final cut of this movie was made on a very small budget, but gives the feel of a much bigger movie. There is a believably tense atmosphere throughout the movie which is further drove into your being by the excellent music (very similar to crash).The running time is short - but leaves you feeling as though you've seen a lot more.The film is a character based one and is driven along by some pretty good acting. But the film is really too short for any of the leads to really stretch there acting skills.The main guy is actually the oldest brother from "malcolm in the middle" and after watching this I hope he gets more work in the future.A very good film overall - My buddy thought it was super sweet.Who am i to disagree!!!!!!!!!!!! WATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ben de Graaf
The only positive thing about this movie is the sound-track. The music and audio-mixing was superb and saved some of the bad. The camera work wanted to bring us deep inside the characters, but failed at that completely. Bunch of wanna-be politically correct towel-head scenes without a clear purpose. The lighting and cinematography seemed to want to stress heat and unrest onto the viewer, but was mostly annoying and tried to do it all way too fast. The story's concept of linking danger to water-use promised much more than it ended up giving.The movie also proves that smokers, power-eager males and stupid people (basically all the same anyway) will ruin everything for humanity in a crisis situation. It tells us that stupid men can't think before they act, and stupid people will behave like animals when it comes down to it. I really disliked what the voice-over was pushing to the viewer; that we would ALL just be animals again. Please, let him speak for himself, because really: No, we would not. He and especially his junkie 'friend' would, most of us wouldn't. Stupid idiots will go around raping, looting and fighting each other over nothing. Smart reasonable people will try and find ways out of it, save others from possible water shortages, look for ways to survive the crisis. And yes, they will still behave civilized under pressures like that. I found this movie was missing that. It is made from the assumption that men are ALL idiots and uncontrollable yelling fools again, while they're not. Not all men are like that. Probably the writer isn't that smart himself, he can't imagine intelligent and sensible people exist out there.This movie should have lasted at least an hour longer, the ending suddenly bumped in as if the writer didn't know how to make something out of it. Basically, this is a movie by and for stupid people. There was nobody to really identify with.
Film Critic
Not a bad movie overall, very B-moveish the colour was terrible and camera wouldn't stay still! The plot raised some interesting points and showed some good character motivation. However a lot of things that were going on didn't have much to do with anything e.g. the lad beating up his mate, it wasn't anything to do with the water, but a comment about him being a mummies boy, we later find out his mother killed herself (who cares what did it have to do with the rest of the story?). Also why was the guy out of Malcolm in the middle at the Sikh ceremony at the end wearing a bandanna? The interracial relationship was interesting but i don't think British audiences will get what the fuss is considering there's about 7 million Sikhs, Indians and Pakhistani's here (about 10% of the population). And i didn't even realise the soldiers wife was mixed until i read someone else's comment about it! I do have a few cultural questions about the American social structure -Why did the soldier feel he had to shoot the guy in the truck when his life wasn't in danger (more gun hoe tactics)? Why did the soldier hate the people who were trying to take some water from the aqueduct so much? Why did the soldier think that he would be of benefit in Iraq after he had made racist comments at the start of the film, killed someone for no good reason, and scared some thirsty hillbillies senseless? Why if only 23 people had died in the whole of LA (considering everyone must have drank the water) did the entire population of the city go mental and start acting like scared paranoid idiots? Why didn't anyone just go to a Pepsi machine? why weren't more people being supplied with water, it seems strange that the government would issue a statement saying not to drink the water then not supply enough to the population (is this a real concern in America?).Why did the other soldier shoot the lad at the end instead of attempting talking him down? If this is how Americans act in Iraq then no wonder the British have lost so many soldiers to friendly fire! This film i think showed a lot about American social culture, how easily the people become scared of something relatively small, how racially segregated they are, and how that fear and misunderstanding of other people leads them into shooting or assaulting everything that moves! more people died from acting crazy and not drinking the water than if they had carried on drinking the actual water.They should make an English version where nobody cares, they all sit around drinking tea made with water the government has supplied, or drinking in the pub, or probably just still drink the so called contaminated water, then three days later its over nobody's been shot and the bad guys been caught.
Jenn Brown
The impact of current paranoia about domestic terrorist threats are brought home in an provocative story that plays out in a Los Angeles neighborhood when it's discovered that someone has contaminated the water.Screenwriter/Director Ben Rekhi articulately features differing points of view from disparate characters who eventually intersect as they all struggle with the reality of the lack of water. There are no clichés in this story, which is filled with fully realized characters and some excellent moments as characters face their fears, and the consequences of their actions.Don't let the fact that Waterborne only received a second runner up audience award at SXSW fool you. The SXSW program this year was full of excellent films that showcased the power of independent film making, and considering Hooligans, arguably the most anticipated world premiere at SXSW '05, the fact that Waterborne placed with an audience award is telling.Waterborne is a memorable film that deserves a wide audience.