Waterborne (2005)

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The concept alone is good. And believable, with water resources experiencing an ever growing demand and so becoming a more likely target for attack. Although the story seems to jump between different messages it does come together well and particular praise must go to how the film hints at human nature.This movie makes you think, not because of the complexity of the storyline. Everything is pretty straight forward, but it puts your mind into the situation the characters are experiencing, makes you wonder how you would react and in some manner makes you more weary of water supply. What would we do if we no longer had access to something as simple as drinking water? I must point out, the reason it is not as bad as the cover implies? It IS exactly what it says on the cover but what it says on the cover isn't very much. The cover (in the UK anyway) gives the impression of a very low budget, badly scripted plot, but we know we shouldn't judge by the cover right? Apart from jerky filming, and yes a lot of close ups, it's not too bad at all. Definitely worth the watch, just expect less suspense and more pondering.

okay, the soldiers don't behave at all like those in 28 days later. But there is a dread disease situation, lawlessness, violence, and surprising tenderness. It was a good film and I was touched by the characters' growth. Further, I liked the slippery way of shooting the scenes, especially the traveling scenes. The use of flashback was nicely done, also. The three groups of people the film follows are two cousins who are living together in an apartment, a mother and son and the son's girlfriend, and an IT guy who is also a National Guardsman, with his wife and daughter. The mother owns a small grocery store. The groups of characters interact at various points in the movie, as in the more famous "Crash". Sure, "Crash" won best picture, but this film is almost as good. Each group of characters has its own internal conflict as well as the general conflict they all share: what to do about the lack of clean water. I recommend this film for those who are interested in disaster films.

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.

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.