ReelBob: ‘Aquarela’ ★★½
By Bob Bloom
It takes patience and fortitude to watch “Aquarela.”
This maddening documentary from Russian filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky has neither a narrator nor explanations of its sequences.
“Aquarela” is a celebration of water — its beauty, power and danger. The movie basically tells us what we already know — that people are no match for water, no matter how we try to tame or control it.
The 89-minute feature offers ample evidence of the random nature of the planet’s most unpredictable element.
“Aquarela’s” best moments are spent in the vast northern regions of Earth, where constant rumbles that sound like thunder actually are the crackling noise of pieces breaking off of icebergs, adding more water to our oceans — water that, without Kossakovsky having to tell us, will eventually overrun the coastal areas of our continents, creating massive shifts in populations.
The sequences of breaking icebergs are beautiful yet terrifying.
The various mountains of ice look like some alien landscape.
Kossakovsky treats water as a living entity that is continually moving and breathing. No words seem necessary, as his cameras capture images that need no explanation — giant waves assailing a yacht or floodwaters that ravaged Miami during Hurricane Irma.
“Aquarela” offers spectacular vistas — the ear-shattering sound of a turbulent waterfall as it plunges earthward is an example of one spellbinding sequence.
The movie also is a warning about climate change and its dangers. In the opening sequences set in northern regions, not only do we see icebergs crumbling, but people and cars plunging through thin ice that — for decades — had been safe for passage.
One of the movie’s frustrating aspects is that you are left to your own devices to interpret the on-screen images. My belief is that, rather than hit you over the head with dire warnings about global warming, Kossakovsky wants you to reach your own conclusions about what is going on in the world.
That is commendable but also challenging — especially in today’s political climate in which the science and scientists who are sounding the alarm are being ridiculed and ignored by deniers with their own shortsighted agendas.
An annoying aspect of “Aquarela” is an oppressive heavy-metal like musical score that sounds like remixed cues from “Dune” or a giant monster movie.
“Aquarela” isn’t exactly a canary-in-the-coal-mine documentary, but it comes close enough that you may pause and rethink your views not just about climate change, but how it seems the Earth’s most powerful element seems to be rebelling and fighting back — sending us a clear message that, before it is too late, we must become better stewards of our environment.
The Old Testament tells us the story of Noah and how God used the waters of Earth to cleanse the planet of mankind.
“Aquarela” is warning that, because of our ignorance, arrogance and lack of concern, we are — inch-by-inch — working to convert that biblical tale into fact.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
AQUARELA
2½ stars out of 4
(PG), thematic elements