Estado de Alerta

okay, the soldiers don't behave at all like those in 28 days later. But there is a dread disease situation, lawlessness, violence, and surprising tenderness. It was a good film and I was touched by the characters' growth. Further, I liked the slippery way of shooting the scenes, especially the traveling scenes. The use of flashback was nicely done, also.

The three groups of people the film follows are two cousins who are living together in an apartment, a mother and son and the son's girlfriend, and an IT guy who is also a National Guardsman, with his wife and daughter. The mother owns a small grocery store. The groups of characters interact at various points in the movie, as in the more famous "Crash". Sure, "Crash" won best picture, but this film is almost as good. Each group of characters has its own internal conflict as well as the general conflict they all share: what to do about the lack of clean water. I recommend this film for those who are interested in disaster films.

I, as a witness to the world Trade disaster. I felt very emotionally evolved in this film. I guess I didn't notice the cinematography problems some have commented on. I saw the reality of what can manifest out of the suspicion of innocent people just because they look and act in a different way than most of us expect. As Americans we hardly look inside of ourselves, Perhaps the reality of one of us harming innocent people is hard to except. So we force the blame on what we do not understand about others and strike out against them.I Feel this film is entirely underrated. It should be seen by all of us as Americans. We have to realize that there is good and bad in all. I don't understand why we expect the bad before all.

In Los Angeles, the authorities find that the tap water is contaminated due to a terrorist attack after the death of eight dwellers. The military Ritter (Jon Gries) leaves his wife Jasmine (Lindsay Price) and his daughter at home to patrol the dam with the bigoted and stressed soldier Carlton (Chris Berry). The Sikh matriarch Heera Bhatti (Shabana Azmi), who has a convenience store, increases the price of bottled water and limits the sell to two units per person. Her son Vikram Bhatti (Ajay Naidu) that works with her is not comfortable with her decision. When his Caucasian girlfriend Lillian "Lilly" (Mageina Tovah) visits him at the store, his mother gives a cold reception to her. Meanwhile the local Zach (Christopher Masterson) decides to visit his father with his cousin Bodi (Jake Muxworthy), who is a reckless and unbalanced person. However his father does not accept the Zach brings Bodi and they go to the trailer of Bodi's friend Donovan (Noah Segan). Along the three next days, their lives are entwined with tragic consequences in a environment of violence and despair.

"Waterborne" is an indie movie with an interesting idea of the behavior of people without water. The story shows prejudice everywhere and the conclusion is simple: take the water and people turn into animals, guided by the sense of survival and prejudice.

The direction and the acting are convincing; the screenplay could have been improved but is not bad; the music score contributes with the movie. Unfortunately the camera work and the lighting are very poor. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Estado de Alerta" ("State of Alert")

I just saw Waterborne about 20 minutes ago at the Tallgrass Film Festival in Wichita, KS. I was drawn to the movie because I heard that Dredg (most awesome band practically ever; not a bold statement at all) composed the score. The movie and the music blew me away. So many emotional elements was encompassed. I thought that Ben Rekhi did a great job targeting instinctual drives, discrimination, love, ethical dilemmas, religion, morals and more. Awesome movie!!!! I'd totally watch this again on the big screen. Dredg's music was awesome too. I loved when Dredg's powerfulness was blaring during the night of the first day (I don't feel that I'm being a spoiler by saying this). That was my favorite instrumental moment; very awesome. Now I'm ready for the DVD/soundtrack to come out. A+++++++++++++++++

I saw the World Premiere of "Waterborne" at South by Southwest, and it is compelling both as an examination of what would happen if Los Angelos came under biological attack and as a human drama. The acting is excellent, the music is original and works perfectly, and the direction is right-on for this kind of film. This movie ought to get released; it does a better job than any big Hollywood movie ever could at dealing with the true terror that a contaminated water supply could bring about.

The story is told through the eyes of a few different characters, all of whom are at a point in their lives where a widespread panic allows some hidden anxieties to show. The dialogue is authentic and the characters are excellent and varied. I especially enjoyed the multi-cultural flair of the film - in too many of these kinds of movies, the people affected are cultural stereotypes, but "Waterborne" plays with that notion to fine effect. Indeed, the LA in "Waterborne" - like the one in the real world - is populated by Sikhs finding their place post -9/11 and clashing with older generations, military officers with a conscience who marry outside of their race, and middle-class twenty-somethings dealing with a scary world. "Waterborne" actually creates multi-layered characters and shows how many things that seethe under the surface will bubble up in a time of terror and panic.

At the South by Southwest screening, the producers gave out free bottles of water, and needless to say the entire audience looked at the bottles differently after the movie was over. If you get a chance to see this, take advantage: it's a very cool film.