Agua
Agua (English: Water and in the United Kingdom: Argentinian Waters) is a 2006 Argentine and French sports movie directed and written by Verónica Chen and Pablo Lago. The film is centered around a former professional swimming champion returning to old glory in the sport and includes cameo appearances by real marathon swimmers like Edith van Dijk.
Contents
Plot
34-year-old Goyo, a former open water swimming champion, has been hiding out in the desert. Wrongly accused of doping in the Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe - Coronda (Santa Fe-Coronda Marathon), a 57 km professional marathon swim, he has abandoned his career and his dreams.
Eight years later, Goyo returns to Santa Fe, Argentina where the professional marathon race will be held in an attempt to re-gain his title and clear his name. Goyo is inspired to attempt again after seeing a documentary about 6-time marathon swimming world champion Edith van Dijk who plays herself in the movie.
However, long buried emotions come back to haunt him. He meets Chino, a stubborn and disciplined pool swimmer, who tries hard to be selected for the national team, but fails.
Cast
- Rafael Ferro as Goyo
- Nicolás Mateo as Chino
- Jimena Anganuzzi as Luisa
- Leonora Balcarce as Ana
- Gloria Carrá as Maria
- Edith van Dijk as herself
Distribution
The drama premiered on 21 April 2006 in Argentina at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema and opened countrywide on 21 September 2006.
The picture was screened at various film festivals, including the Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland; the Warsaw Film Festival, Poland; the Amiens International Film Festival, France; the Oslo International Film Festival, Norway.
Critical reception
Robert Koehler, film critic for Variety magazine, gave the film a mixed review when reporting from the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival. He wrote, "Pretension swallows up Water, Veronica Chen's shallow follow-up to her fine 2001 debut, Smokers Only. Bookended by a hauntingly atmospheric opening sequence and a finale that makes the central characters' involvement with marathon swimming vivid and physical, the pic has a gaping hole in the middle. Hardly different in basic outline from innumerable recent sports films about outsiders and underdogs turning their lives around, the pic's only twist is an excessively and pointlessly elliptical storytelling gambit. Fest interest will be mild at best for a film with little commercial kick."[1]
Awards
- Amiens International Film Festival, France: SIGNIS Award, Best Film, Verónica Chen; 2006.
- Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland: Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Verónica Chen; Youth Jury Award: Environment is Quality of Life, Verónica Chen; 2006.
- Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Sound, Martín Grignaschi and Federico Billordo; 2007.
- Málaga Spanish Film Festival, Spain: Silver Biznaga, Best Film, Verónica Chen; 2007.
- Palm Springs International Film Festival: New Voices/New Visions Special Jury Prize, Best Film, Verónica Chen; 2007.
- Locarno International Film Festival : Golden Leopard nomination, Verónica Chen; 2006.
- Marrakech International Film Festival, Morocco: Golden Star nomination, Verónica Chen; 2006.
- Oslo Films from the South Festival: Films from the South Award nomination, Best Feature, Verónica Chen; 2006.
- Argentine Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Cinematography nominations, Sabine Lancelin and Matías Mesa; 2007.
Video
Swimming
Agua was listed as one of the Great Movies for Open Water Swimmers by the World Open Water Swimming Association and the Daily News of Open Water Swimming.
External links
- Curriculum Offerings Of Open Water Swimming University
- Binge Watching Swimming Over The Last Century
- Agua
- Agua
- Great Movies For Open Water Swimmers
- Open Water Swimming Books And Movies
- Curriculum Offerings Of The Open Water
- Driven Featured In Montana
- World Open Water Swimming Association
- Open Water Swimming
- Marathon Swimming
- Great Open Water Swimming Venues In Movies
