SYNOPSICS
Waterborne (2005) is a English,Punjabi movie. Ben Rekhi has directed this movie. Christopher Masterson,Jake Muxworthy,Jon Gries,Christopher Berry are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2005. Waterborne (2005) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
In Los Angeles, the authorities find that the tap water is contaminated due to a terrorist attack after the death of eight dwellers. The military Ritter leaves his wife Jasmine (Lindsay Price) and his daughter at home to patrol the dam with the bigoted and stressed soldier Carlton. The Sikh matriarch Heera Bhatti, who has a convenience store, increases the price of bottled water and limits the sell to two units per person. Her son Vikram Bhatti that works with her is not comfortable with her decision. When his Caucasian girlfriend Lillian "Lilly" visits him at the store, his mother gives a cold reception to her. Meanwhile the local Zach decides to visit his father with his cousin Bodi, who is a reckless and unbalanced person. However his father does not accept the Zach brings Bodi and they go to the trailer of Bodi's friend Donovan. Along the three next days, their lives are entwined with tragic consequences in a environment of violence and despair.
More
Waterborne (2005) Reviews
Extremely clever indie flick
I saw the World Premiere of "Waterborne" at South by Southwest, and it is compelling both as an examination of what would happen if Los Angelos came under biological attack and as a human drama. The acting is excellent, the music is original and works perfectly, and the direction is right-on for this kind of film. This movie ought to get released; it does a better job than any big Hollywood movie ever could at dealing with the true terror that a contaminated water supply could bring about. The story is told through the eyes of a few different characters, all of whom are at a point in their lives where a widespread panic allows some hidden anxieties to show. The dialogue is authentic and the characters are excellent and varied. I especially enjoyed the multi-cultural flair of the film - in too many of these kinds of movies, the people affected are cultural stereotypes, but "Waterborne" plays with that notion to fine effect. Indeed, the LA in "Waterborne" - like the one in the real world - is populated by Sikhs finding their place post -9/11 and clashing with older generations, military officers with a conscience who marry outside of their race, and middle-class twenty-somethings dealing with a scary world. "Waterborne" actually creates multi-layered characters and shows how many things that seethe under the surface will bubble up in a time of terror and panic. At the South by Southwest screening, the producers gave out free bottles of water, and needless to say the entire audience looked at the bottles differently after the movie was over. If you get a chance to see this, take advantage: it's a very cool film.
Take the Water and People Turn into Animals
In Los Angeles, the authorities find that the tap water is contaminated due to a terrorist attack after the death of eight dwellers. The military Ritter (Jon Gries) leaves his wife Jasmine (Lindsay Price) and his daughter at home to patrol the dam with the bigoted and stressed soldier Carlton (Chris Berry). The Sikh matriarch Heera Bhatti (Shabana Azmi), who has a convenience store, increases the price of bottled water and limits the sell to two units per person. Her son Vikram Bhatti (Ajay Naidu) that works with her is not comfortable with her decision. When his Caucasian girlfriend Lillian "Lilly" (Mageina Tovah) visits him at the store, his mother gives a cold reception to her. Meanwhile the local Zach (Christopher Masterson) decides to visit his father with his cousin Bodi (Jake Muxworthy), who is a reckless and unbalanced person. However his father does not accept the Zach brings Bodi and they go to the trailer of Bodi's friend Donovan (Noah Segan). Along the three next days, their lives are entwined with tragic consequences in a environment of violence and despair. "Waterborne" is an indie movie with an interesting idea of the behavior of people without water. The story shows prejudice everywhere and the conclusion is simple: take the water and people turn into animals, guided by the sense of survival and prejudice. The direction and the acting are convincing; the screenplay could have been improved but is not bad; the music score contributes with the movie. Unfortunately the camera work and the lighting are very poor. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Estado de Alerta" ("State of Alert")
Them Crazy Yanks!!!!
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.
Timely, Provocative
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.
Having lived in a town without water for 30 days before...
"Waterbourne" had a lot of potential, and it's really a shame that someone with the cash didn't pick it up and make it properly. It deals with the fears and absolute terror that come when one is deprived of one of the very necessities of life...water, and the desperate things that one will do in order to survive. As one reviewer has said before, it's like a cross between "Crash", and another disaster movie like "Earthquake" or something else equally earth-shattering. I lived through 30 days of no water during the floods of 1993 here in the Midwest of the United States (Des Moines, IA), and this film probably comes closest to demonstrating the fear that was experienced by many people during the first 24-48 hours after we realized that our water supply for a city this size was shot. Luckily for us, we didn't experience a situation like "Waterbourne" displayed for us. Our people pulled together, and worked together. We gained strength from our situation. This, unfortunately wasn't an aspect shown in this film. Not a bad movie, but not a great movie either. As previously stated by another reviewer, the camera work is very rough. It's definitely a thinking persons movie though...very dark and foreboding, so if you enjoy that type of movie then this is the one for you! I wouldn't recommend this for any person with psychological difficulties or anyone seriously disturbed by thoughts of terrorism. It has the potential to mess with your mind.