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Germany · 2021
1h 19m
Director Jonas Bak
Starring Anke Bak, Ricky Yeung, Alexandra Batten, Theresa Bak
Genre Drama
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Newly retired from her church job, a mother leaves behind her solitary life in rural Germany and travels to Hong Kong to visit her estranged son just as pro-democracy protests erupt. While there, a series of chance encounters coupled with the city's energy help her make way for a new chapter in her life.
The New York Times by Beatrice Loayza
With a kind of dissociative, jet lag-induced delirium, the film transitions — somehow fluidly — from the lush woodlands and desolate churches of southern Germany to the flickering lights and modernist textures of Hong Kong in the throes of mass demonstrations.
Jonas Bak’s semi-autobiographical film is a gentle depiction of modern alienation.
The drama is relevant, touching, and ultimately meaningful, as it aims to educate and enlighten its viewers. As such, if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, insert yourself in the narrative, actively ponder the questions being asked, and admire the nuances of what Jonas Bak creates, you are likely to find something to enjoy.
Los Angeles Times by Robert Abele
Juxtaposing nature’s comforting placidity and an urban mélange in which freedom is always in flux, “Wood and Water” breathes with unforced majesty about what’s sad and beautiful in moments of great change — story, mood and near-documentary-like observation are in a wonderful harmony here.
First he was her prince... now he's her hero.
Art imitates life and life imitates art.
Lovers in two parallel love stories are thwarted by hidden obstacles, the force of superstition, and the mechanics of power.
A static, monotonic, and at times obvious film about anomie, alienation, and depression. The director's eye captures these states well and, often, with considerable craft and some beauty. But the film itself, reeking with depression, succeeds only in alienating the viewer. There is nothing new, or culturally or psychologically unique, in this film.