IMDb > The Waterdance (1992)
The Waterdance
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The Waterdance (1992) More at IMDbPro »

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The Waterdance (1992) -- hv post

Overview

User Rating:
6.7/10   1,664 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writer (WGA):
Neal Jimenez (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Waterdance on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 May 1992 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Tagline:
Imagine being trapped inside your own body. Imagine being set free. more
Plot:
An oft overlooked film about struggling to deal with paralysis. Author Joel Garcia breaks his neck while hiking... more | add synopsis
Awards:
5 wins & 5 nominations more
User Comments:
A true-to-life story of rehabilitation more (21 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Eric Stoltz ... Joel Garcia

Helen Hunt ... Anna

William Allen Young ... Les
James Roach ... Guy in the Electric Wheelchair
Elizabeth Peña ... Rosa
Henry Harris ... Mr. Gibson

Tony Genaro ... Victor
Eva Rodriguez ... Victor's Wife
Erick Vigil ... Victor's Son
Edgar Rodriguez ... Victor's Son
Angélica Castell ... Victor's Daughter

William Forsythe ... Bloss

Grace Zabriskie ... Pat

Wesley Snipes ... Raymond Hill

Kimberly Scott ... Alice
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Additional Details

Runtime:
106 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Filming Locations:
Los Angeles, California, USA

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This is a semi-autobiographical film for co-director Neal Jimenez who became a paraplegic after a hiking accident. more
Quotes:
[after Joel nearly crashes the van they're in]
Joel Garcia: Boy, he sure came out of nowhere, didn't he?
Sang: It's a good thing we're already paralyzed.
more
Movie Connections:
References Ordinary People (1980) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful.
A true-to-life story of rehabilitation, 7 September 1998
Author: rick489 from San Diego, CA

As a disabled person myself, I have seen firsthand the drama told in this movie. A rehab hospital is its own private world, a world where people are transformed and adapt to a new reality. The Waterdance comes as close as possible to capturing that world and relating it in terms that the general public can understand.

The central character is an author who was paralyzed in an auto accident. Along the way, we meet the typically diverse set of characters seen in such wards who have nothing in common except similar disabilities. The similarities are not enough, and an uneasy dynamic between them develops. There is the once dapper ladies' man who is thrown from the hospital into a nursing home, where he attempts suicide. There is the man who is lucky enough to have a supportive family. There is the once tough guy who wants to get even with a suit using a lawyer gotten off a TV ad. A social order develops with its own shifting loyalties and rules.

Through it all is Joel Garcia, going through his own changes and his own Hell. He seems to adapt easily, but he falls into traps along the way. The free drugs dull his senses. He doesn't know how he will cope with his life. Most of all, he and his lover (Helen Hunt), who is married to another man, must decide whether they will stay together as they had planned.

The Waterdance is one of a handful of films that deals honestly and wisely with the issues of disability. Like them (Coming Home, The Best Years of Their Lives), it may appear depressing at first, but it also highlights how strong people can be when faced with life's greatest challenge.

I just can't understand why he gave up Helen Hunt! I wouldn't have.

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