Flow: For Love of Water (2008)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Irena Salina

Release Date:

12 September 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

How did a handful of corporations steal our water?

Plot:

Water is the very essence of life, sustaining every being on the planet. 'Flow' confronts the disturbing reality that our crucial resource is dwindling and greed just may be the cause. |

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Maude Barlow	...	Herself
Shelly Brime	...	Herself
Anthony Burgmans	...	Himself
Dr. Kent Butler	...	Himself
Michel Camdessus	...	Himself
Charles-Louis de Maud'huy	...	Himself
Ashwin Desai	...	Himself
Siddharaj Dhadda	...	Himself
Shripad Dharmadhikary	...	Himself
Ashok Gadgil	...	Himself
Peter H. Gleick	...	Himself
Tyrone Hayes	...	Himself
David Hemson	...	Himself
Penn Jillette	...	Himself
Ronnie Kasrils	...	Himself
Gigi Kellett	...	Herself
Jean Luc-Touly	...	Himself
Anna Debwese Mape	...	Herself
William E. Marks	...	Himself
Patrick McCully	...	Himself
Fatima Meer	...	Herself
Gerard Mestrallet	...	Himself
Bob Nameng	...	Himself
Sunita Narain	...	Herself
Marcela Olivera	...	Herself
Oscar Olivera	...	Himself
Erik D. Olson	...	Himself
Jim Olson	...	Himself
Rod Parsley	...	Himself
Medha Patkar	...	Herself
Julian Perez	...	Himself
Boone Pickens	...	Himself
Mary Anne Rennet	...	Herself
Jim Schultz	...	Himself
Paul Schwartz	...	Himself
Vandana Shiva	...	Herself
Rajendra Singh	...	Himself
Holly Wren Spaulding	...	Herself
Achim Steiner	...	Himself
Terry Swier	...	Herself
Teller	...	Himself
James Wolfensohn	...	Himself

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bolivia

Company:

Group Entertainment, The

Required Viewing

I saw a screening of FLOW at AFI Dallas, and it's one of the best documentaries (perhaps even THE best) I've ever seen.

The film covers a lot of ground. In fact, Salina probably could have made a series of films from her research. But instead she's managed to condense it down to a very watchable hour and a half. As she said in a Q&A after the screening, she realized during her research that although there is a wide range of water problems spread all across the globe, they are all connected, and it's important to look at the big picture. And from the viewer's perspective it's also interesting to see the connections between water problems in communities in India or Bolivia where privatization is putting poor communities in serious danger and communities in Michigan where Nestle is stealing water from the aquifers without paying a penny.

And, like any good documentary, this one doesn't stop just after presenting a problem; it also talks about how communities are fighting back, providing inspiration for viewers to take a stand as well. This film should be required viewing.