Watermark Makes A Mark

'Watermark' A documentary film by Jennifer Baichwal, Nick de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky. 


    A  film about water. What's even better 'Watermark' is a Canadian film about water.
    So there'll be lots of conflict here right? A massive struggle over water rights in Bolivia ended up with a progressive government in power headed up by a First Nations president Evo Morales. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher against public opposition, privatized British waterworks in the 1980's. And outspoken Canadian patriot Maud Barlow fears that American companies are casting envious eyes on Canadian waters.
     But 'Watermark' directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky isn't about the politics of water at all. It  takes us on a peaceful journey through the waterways of ten countries including Canada.
     "We're water," says First Nations guide Oscar Dennis as he takes us along the Stikine River in northern B.C. "We're all water."
    Who can disagree with this? And who can criticize either the beautiful photography by Baichwal, Burtynsky and Nick de Pencier of oceans, rivers, streams and deserts?
    Burtynsky's still life photos of massive factories and huge landscapes, have had a big influence on 'Watermark'. The man is one of the world's outstanding photographers. Baichwal has racked up a lot of films as a documentary film maker. This film is one of her best.
    Abalone farms and the huge Xilodu dam in China, contesting surfers at California's Huntingdon Beach and scientists in Greenland are all grist for the film's cameras as they soar and swoop around the world.  We took "20 stories from 10 countries" says Baichwal, "and somehow flow(ed) them together into a single experential stream." I wanted to see an overarching story that linked all the separate stories . Yet perhaps water itself was the story that brought together all the separate stories.
     Baichwal and Burtynsky in any case have made a fine documentary. I'm glad I saw it. The politics of water belongs in a separate film  which I'll be waiting for. It probably won't come from Baichwal and Burtynsky. But that 's okay since they've done a great job by making 'Watermark'.