Coldwater (2014)

Too much of everything

To me, this movie is perfection.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Coldwater is the story of an adolescent boy who is sent to a backwoods juvenile reform facility. As the film continues, we slowly come to understand the events that lead him there and the horrors that occur. While I would like to say that this story is completely fictional, it is not. The script and the characters are, of course, a work of fiction. However, the abuse that often occurs in juvenile reform facilities is all too real. There are many documented cases of emotional and physical abuse, in some cases even leading to the death of young teens, at these facilities all over the country. While this is a fictional story, I appreciate its realism. This realism makes Coldwater shocking and at times difficult to watch. This film is not entertaining in the way that many films are. However, I believe that it is important to watch because the stories behind it are very real.

I wouldn't call it a thriller, just a drama. A nice one nevertheless. About juvenile detention and the sick things that happen in those camps. Is it a solution as parents to send your kids in one of those camps after their bad behavior to learn them a lesson? I really don't think so, because you actually learn the opposite there. You don't come out reformed out of there, you come out with more bad tricks learned from others. Parents sending their kids there should question themselves and their bad parenting instead of blaming everything on their kids. Anyhow, the movie itself is enjoyable to watch. All the actors were good. You really feel sorry for some of those kids. The behavior of the so-called reformers are actually the ones that should be put in prison. Sure it happens everywhere in those camps. Power hungry people should never run a camp like that. Good movie.

No joke, at first, I actually believed it was Ryan Gosling who was playing in this film. Young Ryan Gosling. Besides that, it's a great film, one one the best juvenile delinquency films kind ever made for me. In the line of DOG POUND, four years ago. Terrific performances every where here. The director explained he avoided rape sequences, especially at the beginning, but he did not avoid torture scenes, especially the one with the pin Under the nail...The independent American film industry seems very interesting these times, a billion miles ahead of the usual Hollywood crap. A great film.

I just saw this movie at its premiere at SXSW. It's an intense film about a young man who is sent to be 'transformed' at what you might call a juvenile detention camp. Things deteriorate as the Colonel, played masterfully by James C. Burns, begins to unravel himself. The film is carried by newcomer PJ Boudousque, a name we should start getting used to. In his first film, he plays Brad Lunders, a teenager haunted by the mistakes of his past but determined to change his future, and that of anyone close to his orbit. His performance is intense and meaningful, saying as much with a look as he might with 100 words. Vincent Grashaw does a marvelous job with all the young cast, each bringing something very special to the film. The score is a triumph.I loved this film, and think for many people involved it will be the start of something big.