Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
This unusual Macedonian release is engrossing if not always nimbly directed.
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Macedonia, Czech Republic, United States · 2005
1h 33m
Director Ivo Trajkov
Starring Saso Kekenovski, Maja Stankovska, Mitko Apostolovski, Verica Nedeska
Genre Drama
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
An ailing communist reflects on a young boy childhood in Stalinist Yugoslavia.
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
This unusual Macedonian release is engrossing if not always nimbly directed.
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
Ultimately about the indomitability of faith, and the Christian symbolism is laid on thick. But the story, adapted from a famous behind-the-Iron-Curtain novel, sheds light on a subject few people have known about.
Bleak political parable.
The New York Times by Lawrence Van Gelder
What makes the film worth watching are the extraordinary performances by the more than 250 children cast as orphans.
Despite the choppy script and cartoonishly bad villains, what emerges is a compelling tale of the moral compromises a corrupt system demands of even its most unwilling participants.
Had the orphanage years been the first chapter in a longer story, The Great Water might've stretched toward a finish as unforgettable as its start.
Grim and frequently depressing, and despite the artistry of its framing it nonetheless is a very difficult movie to endure.
Extraordinary perfs by a mostly young cast likely will be cancelled out by the grim subject.
The Hollywood Reporter by Sheri Linden
Adapting the novel by Zhivko Chingo, director Trajkov and his co-scripter, Vladimir Blazevski, have created a searing memory piece. Suki Medencevic's widescreen cinematography illuminates a shadow realm halfway between heaven and hell.
Nicely acted and stylishly photographed.
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, and inexplicable dreams.
After Alex is brutally assaulted, her boyfriend and ex-lover take matters into their own hands to exact revenge.
In 2003 at the Iraqi-Turkish border, Kurdish refugees await invasion by American soldiers.
A daring, nuanced story of the investigation around the man reported to be South Korea’s first serial killer, who was uncaught at the time of the film's release.
Innocence is a dangerous friend.
A biologist signs up for an expedition in search of her husband, who has vanished in a logic-defying alien landscape.
Two cousins compete viciously for the favor of their Queen.
Jongsu's solitude is interrupted when he runs into a childhood neighbor and her enigmatic friend.
A cruise for the ultra-wealthy goes awry when the ship sinks, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island.
Two British soldiers race to deliver a message that will stop over 1,000 men from walking into a German ambush.