Flow: For Love of Water

I wish everyone would see this movie. It has one simple thesis: there is a drive to privatize water. It supports its thesis with examples and details about those examples with interviews from experts, local people impacted, and even try to involve the companies that are attempting to privatize, with images, with maps,... It also provides easy solutions to the problem of providing water to the people who need it the most. There are a few arguments that are not supported (like the one on chemicals being absorbed through our skin and such,...) by one activist. The main CEOs of those companies refuse to respond to the allegations (because they know they cannot defend what they are doing, they avoid answering the questions). It is a pretty important documentary. One of the most important doc. I have seen in years. People who criticize this doc. on form are so lame. It is not supposed to be a Hollywood movie! I doubt they have the budgets to build ramps to allow smooth filming, for instance.

I saw a screening of FLOW at AFI Dallas, and it's one of the best documentaries (perhaps even THE best) I've ever seen.

The film covers a lot of ground. In fact, Salina probably could have made a series of films from her research. But instead she's managed to condense it down to a very watchable hour and a half. As she said in a Q&A after the screening, she realized during her research that although there is a wide range of water problems spread all across the globe, they are all connected, and it's important to look at the big picture. And from the viewer's perspective it's also interesting to see the connections between water problems in communities in India or Bolivia where privatization is putting poor communities in serious danger and communities in Michigan where Nestle is stealing water from the aquifers without paying a penny.

And, like any good documentary, this one doesn't stop just after presenting a problem; it also talks about how communities are fighting back, providing inspiration for viewers to take a stand as well. This film should be required viewing.

I love the critic who gave this two stars: they only have one review, and they lump Flow, Sicko, No Logo together under the title of "Anti-capitalist" - they are more than entitled to their opinion, but rather like those who dismiss environmental damage as a necessary collateral of feeding the masses, so water is just water, huh, not THE commodity of the 21st century?

Should it be privatized? Should it be run for a profit? Why do I pay taxes?

Given that water is the ultimate human need shouldn't it be the most carefully guarded human right? At least Flow starts to ask and raise these questions.

If you thought An Inconvenient Truth was an eye opener Flow will change forever your awareness of water issues.If the purpose of this type of documentary is to raise awareness then it succeeds. Massively.

I saw this at IDA- Doc week. What a gem. This is not just important environmentally, but it is important culturally and socially. Not to mention it is highly entertaining. There is actually a funny segment taken from Penn and Teller's BS show. You can see the bit on U Tube, Penn and Teller "Water Bottles". When the film shows how the poorest communities around the world are really affected by the united states water bottle consumption. I have stopped buying any water bottles since I saw this film. There is a website one can sign a petition as well, which one can sign the petition to add a 31st article to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, establishing access to clean water as a fundamental human right.

Amazing documentary on the subject of water privatization around the globe screened at the 10th Mumbai International film festival India-2008

Hat's off to the Director Irena Salena for her brave attempt which took her five years to complete this wonderful film. I do believe this is a film that should be shone, in schools across the the entire globe.

This film widens the vision you have of the conflict, by letting us see it through the eyes of the poor, innocent and affected people of the world.

I also want to congratulate the director for making such an impact on award ceremonies world wide & winning the International jury award in the International Competition section at the 10th m.i.f.f India 2008.

Keep it up Irena & best of luck for your future projects.

Ehteshamuddin-Karachi,Pakistan 12-02-08