The Great Water (2004)

71% of critics liked it
(21 reviews)
77% of users liked it
(546 ratings)

A man near the end of his life relives a crucial period from his youth in this powerful drama. Lem Nikodinoski (Meto Jovanovski) is a prominent Macedonian politician who has suffered a severe heart attack. As Lem drifts between life and death, his mind wanders to his childhood, and he observes his… More A man near the end of his life relives a crucial period from his youth in this powerful drama. Lem Nikodinoski (Meto Jovanovski) is a prominent Macedonian politician who has suffered a severe heart attack. As Lem drifts between life and death, his mind wanders to his childhood, and he observes his younger self (played by Saso Kekenovski) during his days in a camp for children whose parents were unwilling to embrace Russia's Stalinist regime following World War II. Ariton (Mitko Apostolovski), the camp's headmaster, is a strong taskmaster, but he displays a genuine compassion for his charges; Olivera (Verica Nedeska), his second in command, takes a more stern approach, and is willing to dole out physical punishment to any child who does not absorb her Stalinist teachings. One day, a new boy enters the camp, Isak (Maja Stankovska), who displays a calm but resilient nature that's different from the fearful attitudes of the other children. After initial resistance, Lem becomes close friends with Isak, and their friendship helps Lem confront the horrors of camp life in a new way. Writer and director Ivo Trajkov cast teenage actress Maja Stankovska to play Isak after a long series of unsuccessful auditions failed to find a young man who had the right look for the role. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Ivo Trajkov
Written By: Vladimir Blazeveski
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jun 17, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Nov 22, 2005
Studio: Picture This! Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Robert Koehler, Variety
Pic's balance of emotional truth in the hands of a talented cast and charged by Medencevic's lensing and Kiril Dzajkovski's powerfully moody score, reps a bold step forward for Balkan cinema.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
It is an impressionistic, sometimes fascinating, sometimes frustrating, window into a culture and country that was long walled off from the West.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
All of it, Chingo and Trajkov suggest, goes into shaping a Macedonian national identity uneasily poised between religious longing and ideological resolve.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
You leave this film intrigued by its aspiration and not likely to forget the world it's introduced you to.
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
The Great Water is ultimately about the indomitability of faith, and the Christian symbolism is laid on thick.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
Nicely acted and stylishly photographed.
Matthew Smith, Film Journal International
Macedonian blockbuster is more successful as a technical accomplishment than as an engaging narrative.
Laura Kelly, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The cinematic version should have focused on the strength of the orphans' tales, without wasting time with story framing.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
The Great Water's greatest value is its depiction of a society that was as savagely committed to a false idea as its neighbor nations, but that somehow moved back toward reality -- and humanity -- before the Iron Curtain fell.
Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly
Portentous melodrama.
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
The atmosphere of doom and dark destiny is superbly rendered by cinematographer Suki Medencevic whose imagery can only be described as brilliant.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Trajkov's conceit of periodically positioning the elderly Lem as a witness to his misbegotten youth, however, is a distraction, simply because it belongs entirely to Bergman.
, E! Online
Excellent performances by the boys keep you captivated, but by seeing only the beginning and the end of Kekenovski's life, you feel like you're missing a rather interesting middle.
David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
This unusual Macedonian release is engrossing if not always nimbly directed.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A drama revolving around Christian faith and rebellion in an authoritarian Macedonian orphanage after World War II.