Coldwater

a great surprise. not only for the theme, not exactly for acting. but for the admirable art of detail, for the precise tension, for music and for the traces after its end.a film who has the gift to give the emotions of a passing way. a film about small , ordinaries things. nothing complicated, nothing too special. only a story about people, world, error and justice. each of that does it more than a movie about the teenagers difficult cases. short, it is an useful movie. for its artistic virtues. for carefully build of story, for the lead character who translate the life profound sense in a not common manner. a film about pillars of existence. in right manner, with delicate force.

Saw it at Las Vegas Int'L Film festival where it took best picture and many more awards! and decidedly so! what impressed me most about this movie was the internal development building the tension of the character arcs. It is a very rare trait in American movies recently and it is always refreshing to see it, attempted and then achieved. The colors are spot on as well as acting. Many compliments to the DP. Also, Vincent Grashaw does a great job! Pretty great production design - minimal- but confident and effective.

I wish there were more movies like this and good movie lovers should not miss it!

I just saw this movie at its premiere at SXSW. It's an intense film about a young man who is sent to be 'transformed' at what you might call a juvenile detention camp. Things deteriorate as the Colonel, played masterfully by James C. Burns, begins to unravel himself. The film is carried by newcomer PJ Boudousque, a name we should start getting used to. In his first film, he plays Brad Lunders, a teenager haunted by the mistakes of his past but determined to change his future, and that of anyone close to his orbit. His performance is intense and meaningful, saying as much with a look as he might with 100 words. Vincent Grashaw does a marvelous job with all the young cast, each bringing something very special to the film.

The score is a triumph.

I loved this film, and think for many people involved it will be the start of something big.

"Coldwater" is one hot film. It is from 2013, and it is an independent film currently available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. The director is Vincent Grashaw. And it is written by Vincent Grashaw and Mark Penney. The cast includes P.J. Boudousque, James C. Burns, Chris Petrovski, Octavius J. Johnson, Nicholas Bateman, Stephanie Simbari, Mackenzie Sidwell Graff, Clayton LaDue, Tommy Nash, Scott MacArthar, Zach Selwyn, Raquel Gardner, Douglas Bernnett, Josh Kelling, Chauncey Leopardi, Jesse Saler, Michael Rousselef, Brandon Bilotta, Richard Shemer, Jammie Patton and Joe Bilotta. The story is depressing one of young men incarcerated in a juvenile detention center and the mistreatment that they have to endure. Many such centers exist in the U.S. I gave it 7 stars. Dale Haufrect

My wife and best friend went to Pasadena to see this movie over the weekend without any preconceived notions. We were rewarded with a rich and deeply-emotional story that backfilled the plot at just the right moments to reveal teenagers who got in trouble only to experience more serious abuse, murder, and betrayal from the very rehabilitation and juvenile reform camps designed to "correct" their behavior. Lunders' character was played brilliantly in the portrayal of a teenager knowingly doing wrong, getting caught, and then forced to blend his survival instincts with an undertow of defiance while imprisoned.

Was the movie entertaining? Not in the classical sense. But more importantly it conveyed a message that forces the larger examination of the black box of private,for-profit, pseudo-correctional institutions for juveniles in this country. This message still resonates with us several days after seeing the movie. Great film making!