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Agua (2006 film)
Topics: Argentine films
Agua (2006) is an Argentine and French sports drama film directed and written by Veronica Chen and Pablo Lago.
The film is centered around a former professional swimming champion returning to old glory in the sport.
Plot
Thirty-four-year-old Goyo, a former open water swimming champion, has been hiding out in the desert. Wrongly accused of doping in the Santa Fe-Coronda Marathon, a 57 kilometer river swim, he has abandoned his career and his dreams.
Eight years later, Goyo returns to Santa Fe, where the marathon will be held again, to attempt to re-gain his title and clear his name. Goyo is inspired to attempt again after seeing a documentary about 6 fold long distance 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
Nicolas Mateo as Chino
Jimena Anganuzzi as Luisa
Leonora Balcarce as Ana
Gloria Carra as Maria
Edith van Dijk as herself
Distribution
The drama premiered on April 21, 2006 in Argentina at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema, and opened wide in the country on September 21, 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; and others.
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." Koehler, Robert. Varity, film review, May 8, 2006. Last accessed: February 18, 2008.
Awards
Wins
Amiens International Film Festival, France: SIGNIS Award, Best Film, Veronica Chen; 2006.
Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland: Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Veronica Chen; Youth Jury Award: Environment is Quality of Life, Veronica Chen; 2006.
Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Sound, Martin Grignaschi and Federico Billordo; 2007.
Malaga Spanish Film Festival, Spain: Silver Biznaga, Best Film, Veronica Chen; 2007.
Palm Springs International Film Festival: New Voices/New Visions Special Jury Prize, Best Film, Veronica Chen; 2007.
Nominations
Locarno International Film Festival: Golden Leopard, Veronica Chen; 2006.
Marrakech International Film Festival, Morocco: Golden Star, Veronica Chen; 2006.
Oslo Films from the South Festival: Films from the South Award, Best Feature, Veronica Chen; 2006.
Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards: Silver Condor, Best Cinematography, Sabine Lancelin and Matias Mesa; 2007.
External links
Agua at the cinenacional.com .
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Agua (2006 film)
