Dark Flows the Water. Review on Dark Water Movie

A really good movie. Another one in the long cluster of Japanese based movies now being re-made in English like The Grudge,The Vanishing and the like. This movie excels in both the categories of script and photography. Apart from the totally unexpected jumpy scenes,this movie has a good ,subtle meaning to it. It explores the extent to which a mother would indeed go to protect her children.

The movie centers around the life of Jennifer Connelly as Dahlia and her daugher Ceci. Dahlia is torn in a legal battle over the ownership of her child after a bitter separation with her husband. She tries desperately to find a new home for her child. But financial problems leads them to buy a dilapidated,water reeking apartment in a an old building. As the movie progresses,Dahlia begins to feel strangely about the palce. Kudos to the director Walter Salles for extracting suspense and thrill from mere seeping water.

Although I will not categorise this movie as a spine-chilling one, I would definitely recommend it for the suspense it offers. The origins of the small-yellow-rain-jacket clad girl,the water flowing out from the toes of the mysterious young girl as Ceci looks at the creature from underneath the table,the claustrophobic scenes of the water-tank above the building,the sudden appearance of the girls-spirit in the lift,the doll re-appearing from the trash-bin,all of these do a remarkable job in gripping the attention of the audience. The sound orientation is solid as well.

Ceci grows into a young girl. The memories of past enperiences sketching vivid images in her mind. She does chance to come back to the same building again. The interiors are fresh and clean as always,and her old bowl are still on the table. She sees her mother again,or perhaps its her spirit,the one thing that never ages.

A subtle,keen movie.somewhat slow but just fine!