The Water (Spanish: El agua) is a 2022 drama film with magical realism elements directed by Elena López Riera in her directorial debut feature which stars Luna Pamies, Bárbara Lennie and Nieve de Medina. It is a joint Swiss-Spanish-French production.
| The Water | |
|---|---|
| Spanish | El agua |
| Directed by | Elena López Riera |
| Written by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Giuseppe Truppi |
| Edited by | Raphaël Lefèvre |
| Music by | Mandine Knoepfel |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Elastica/Filmin (es) |
Release dates |
|
| Countries |
|
| Language | Spanish |
Set in southeastern Spain, with the backdrop of a local superstition concerning women being predestined to drown in river floods, the plot follows Ana, who lives with her mother and her grandmother,[1] while the storm is coming.[2]
The screenplay was penned by Elena López Riera alongside Philippe Azoury [fr].[5] A Swiss-Spanish-French co-production, the film was produced by Alina Film, Suica Films and Les Films du Worso with support from Institut Valencià de Cultura, ICAA, Creative Europe's MEDIA, and participation of RTVE and À Punt Mèdia [es].[6][7] Shooting took place in Orihuela and other locations across the province of Alicante from April to May 2021.[8] Giuseppe Truppi took over the cinematography whereas Raphaël Lefèvre did so with the film editing.[9]
The film had its world premiere on 20 May 2022 at the Directors' Fortnight parallel section of the 75th Cannes Film Festival.[10][2] It will have its North-American premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the 'Contemporary World Cinema' film slate.[11]
Filmin and Elastica scooped the distribution rights for Spain,[6] where the film is scheduled to be theatrically released on 28 October 2022.[12]
On the American review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, The Water has a 100% approval rating based on 11 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[13]
Jonathan Holland of ScreenDaily deemed the film to be a "daring, multi-layered debut feature", also writing that "[The Water is] a film which always feels carefully poised on the edge of the surreal, where dark things always seem to be pressing in".[4]
Manu Yáñez of Fotogramas rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, extolling the "audacity" of Elena López Riera at handling and intermingling the elements of the film.[14]
Elsa Fernández-Santos of El País deemed the "suggestive" debut feature to be "a film where the arcane becomes visible in a subtle and interior way".[15]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 27th Toulouse Spanish Film Festival | Golden Violet | Won | [16] | |
| 5th Berlanga Awards | Best Film | Pending | [17] | ||
| Best Director | Elena López Riera | Pending | |||
| Best Screenplay | Elena López Riera | Pending | |||
| Best Actress | Luna Pamies | Pending | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Lidia María Cánovas | Pending | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Pascual Valero | Pending | |||