Water (1986)

Touches You

Such a frustrating disappointment

Fresh and Exciting

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Water is truly a delightful comedy about a fictional island that is ignored British colony. The colony in question Cascara has been ignored by the British Government that is until precious mineral water has been discovered there. What ensues is a struggle on who gets to keep Cascara, the British Government or the island's own people led by Governor Baxter Thwaites played by Michael Caine. The other players of this movie including Billy Connolly did very well in carrying this movie leading to that concert and the final fate of Cascara at the end. Water is a good parody on then relative recent events in Falklands and Grenada and Maureen Lipman was cast as the British Prime Minister. Although the Prime Minister's name was not mentioned it was definitely intended to be Margaret Thatcher who was Prime Minister at the time of the release of this movie and Maureen Lipman sure had a very good likness to Thatcher as she looked quite convincing as Prime Minister.

Comedy is considered as a lesser genre by certain people, which may explain why this movie is sometimes considered as one of the worst Michael Caine did. But Water is fun and smart, and how many comedies have these two qualities? For sure, the story is far-fetched, sometimes silly, but it's deliberately silly. It just doesn't take itself seriously, despite the "political messages" in the background and the tongue-in-cheek view of British post-colonial era. Production values are good, pace is sustained, interpretation is dynamic but never crosses the red line of buffoonery. What more can you expect from a comedy? If you come across it on cable TV or in video, give it a chance, it is certainly not the disaster some people claim it is. And if you're in the right mood then, you even may find it damn cool.

This film is a very funny political satire, with many well-aimed (even though, at times, rather too obvious) digs at the politics (and politicians) of the 80's. Although it is not in the league of Dr.Strangelove in terms of satiric black humour, it doesn't really try to be. The jokes are at times hilarious, and in most cases delightful in an old-fashioned comedy way. It is a lot looser in its structure and has a very easygoing pace that helps the satire along. Most of the political satire works even today (which makes one think if things have changed all that much in the past 15 years). Both Michael Caine and Billy Connolly are very funny, while being supported by a cast of relatively unknown but excellent comic actors. All in all, it was a very satisfying comedy that had me laughing out loud in almost every scene.

As Michael Caine competes for another Best Actor Oscar, Water has been included by some commentators in the list of the "bombs" he has taken on "to pay the bills." Ill-advised choices such as The Swarm and Jaws III certainly belong on the list, but I have always considered Water to have brought out Caine's comic ability rather well. The satire is sometimes heavy-handed (especially the Texas oil man caricature by Fred Gwynn) but I find that there is some pretty close to target satire of life, culture, and politics on the many tiny isles of the Eastern Caribbean. I lived on a couple of them myself, and I'm always finding some familiar old friends among Water's characters.