Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
IMDbPro

Water Child

Original title: L'enfant d'eau
  • 1995
  • 1h 43m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
195
YOUR RATING
Water Child (1995)
Drama

A small plane crashes in the Caribbean, leaving only two survivors: a precocious teenage girl and a simple-minded grown-up. They end up on a desert island, with no inhabitants and no rescue ... Read allA small plane crashes in the Caribbean, leaving only two survivors: a precocious teenage girl and a simple-minded grown-up. They end up on a desert island, with no inhabitants and no rescue in sight, and split. Then, a friendship bond develops between the two. The teenager, reali... Read allA small plane crashes in the Caribbean, leaving only two survivors: a precocious teenage girl and a simple-minded grown-up. They end up on a desert island, with no inhabitants and no rescue in sight, and split. Then, a friendship bond develops between the two. The teenager, realizing she may not live long enough to see this experience, and the grown-up, never faced wi... Read all

  • Director
    • Robert Ménard
  • Writer
    • Claire Wojas
  • Stars
    • David La Haye
    • Marie-France Monette
    • Gilbert Sicotte
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    195
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Robert Ménard
    • Writer
      • Claire Wojas
    • Stars
      • David La Haye
      • Marie-France Monette
      • Gilbert Sicotte
    • 2User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 1 nomination

    Photos22

    David La Haye and Marie-France Monette in Water Child (1995)
    Water Child (1995)
    David La Haye and Marie-France Monette in Water Child (1995)
    David La Haye in Water Child (1995)
    Water Child (1995)
    Water Child (1995)
    Water Child (1995)
    Water Child (1995)
    Water Child (1995)
    Water Child (1995)
    Water Child (1995)
    Water Child (1995)

    Top cast

    Edit
    David La Haye
    David La Haye
    • Emile
    Marie-France Monette
    Marie-France Monette
    • Cendrine
    Gilbert Sicotte
    Gilbert Sicotte
    • Thomas
    Danielle Proulx
    Danielle Proulx
    • Pauline
    Monique Spaziani
    Monique Spaziani
    • Suzanne
    Michel Charette
    Michel Charette
    • Firmin
    Matthew Dupuis
    • Emile at 6
    Manon Gauthier
    Manon Gauthier
    • Irène
    Anne-Marie Laliberté
    • Audrey
    Chantal Monfils
    • Flight attendant
    Pierre Pinchiaroli
    Pierre Pinchiaroli
    • Clerk
    Caroline Samson-Aubry
    • Mathilde
    Julien Villeneuve
    • Robert
    Bill Isherwood
    • Businessman
    Donna Klinge
    • Woman on the ship
    Jay Davenport
    • Man on the ship
    Jeanette Thompson-Wilkinson
    • Nurse #1
    Joan Stubbs
    • Nurse #2
    • Director
      • Robert Ménard
    • Writer
      • Claire Wojas
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Ikke naken
    6.3
    Ikke naken
    Ko zorijo jagode
    6.4
    Ko zorijo jagode
    The Hussy
    6.8
    The Hussy
    La petite allumeuse
    5.6
    La petite allumeuse
    Les noces barbares
    6.3
    Les noces barbares
    Daddy
    6.5
    Daddy
    Vilde, the Wild One
    4.1
    Vilde, the Wild One
    Carmen & Babyface
    4.5
    Carmen & Babyface
    La femme enfant
    6.3
    La femme enfant
    Little Sweetheart
    6.0
    Little Sweetheart
    Catch Your Dreams
    5.1
    Catch Your Dreams
    Aire
    7.1
    Aire

    Storyline

    Edit

    User reviews2

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    3/10
    Rather Uncompelling Drama, Failing To Bring Its Themes Full Circle
    These types of films involving castaways who are somehow stranded on an island are always interesting to look into, to see what those involved came up with, simply because they're so formulaic. This film is definitely no different, largely in part due to the fact that we don't see the moments building up to the accident or the accident itself, which would by far have added to the film, though at least the back story of Emil is well developed. All we see is Emil hauling Sendrine to a life raft where lies only the body of a lifeless fat man in a rather unconvincing scene. The idea that a life raft would have been freed by someone after the accident but no one aside from one man who conveniently happened to suddenly drop dead from who knows what, JUST after the accident which is clearly when Emil and Sendrine would have had to crawl aboard it, is ridiculously contrived in order to have them be the only two from the accident to be washed on shore of the island.

    This film clearly had a low budget which is no surprise for a Canadian film. However what I find makes the film mediocre is how the drama is developed. We do see a bit of chemistry between the two characters but ultimately the screenplay was very poorly conceived as it doesn't really put the plot to full effect and the end result is the story feels very aloof especially in how it uses the narration of Sendrine presumably from her diary, although we never actually see her write in it, rather than actually developing more of what the characters are thinking and feeling through their interactions.

    They interact basically on a "pet and master" sort of level which makes it feel very contrived how Sendrine eventually grows to love Emil in a big way. Understandably Emil is mentally retarded and will not interact with people normally, but even his character comes across as somewhat of a caricature, though still by no means laughably so. Chiefly, when trying to portray a mentally handicapped individual and having them constantly refer to themselves in the third person for example, this is something you only need to do as a last resort if the actors are unable to fully portray a mentally handicapped individual without the use of gimmicks, which is something you get in a lot of films to be honest.

    In terms of Sendrine and Emils relationship, I think the biggest mistake was to try to develop it into a sexual relationship when they clearly weren't prepared to follow through with it. I'm not even sure what happened. Essentially, they started off hugging, both fully clothed, and she began rubbing up against him in a sexual manner, clearly in no position to be engaging in sexual relations, then they stop, the characters react strangely to this, and the result is utter confusion. Did they have sex? Did Sendrine get pregnant? All I know is women cannot get pregnant from sitting on toilet seats and the like. Clearly they had to take some precautions with this type of scene, but to me, the subject being controversial in no way alters the fact that any film afraid of its own subject is ultimately a failure, whatever the subject is. As bad as the "sex" scene itself is the buildup. There IS no real relational buildup to it, other than a lifeless diary quotation. It just happens abruptly, and seemed very "tacked on" Ultimately they would have done better to work on developing a stronger sense of "mother/son" type of relationship, which actually was successful to a degree.

    Essentially, all the above points are reasons why the film is O.K. but by no means great. It is a low budget film, the director was clearly out of his depth, and despite the actors being decent, they don't have much of a script to work with, which is essential for any film which is carried solely by 2 characters. Some people may enjoy this film, but I found it ultimately disappointing and laughable in places, which is unfortunate because the premise had potential.
    helpful•3
    5
    • Brakathor
    • Aug 5, 2010

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 1, 1995 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Canada
    • Official site
      • -le film original
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Behind the Blue
    • Filming locations
      • Centre de réadaptation de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Les Productions Vidéofilms Ltée
      • Max Films Productions
      • National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $292,226
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 43 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Water Child (1995)
    Top Gap
    What is the English language plot outline for Water Child (1995)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.