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The Great Water
Metascore
62 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
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  1. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    This unusual Macedonian release is engrossing if not always nimbly directed.
  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    Nicely acted and stylishly photographed.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    75
    An anguished Macedonian drama.
  4. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Sheri Linden
    70
    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.
  5. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    70
    Despite his reliance on visual cliché, Trajkov mines a rich vein of morbid Slavic comedy, and his young characters have an appetite for adventure that's thoroughly unfake.
  6. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    70
    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.
  7. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Van Gelder
    70
    What makes the film worth watching are the extraordinary performances by the more than 250 children cast as orphans.
  8. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    70
    This strange and beautiful Macedonian feature is a welcome reminder that national cinemas still exist.
  9. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    60
    Bleak political parable.
  10. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Leslie Camhi
    60
    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.
  11. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    60
    Intent as it is on being both artistically and politically involving, The Great Water periodically miscalculates its effects, coming on stronger than it intends.
  12. Variety
    Reviewed by: Robert Koehler
    60
    Extraordinary perfs by a mostly young cast likely will be cancelled out by the grim subject.
  13. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    50
    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.
  14. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Phil Hall
    50
    Grim and frequently depressing, and despite the artistry of its framing it nonetheless is a very difficult movie to endure.
  15. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    50
    The Great Water hangs heavy with sepia photography and Christ-like symbolism -- I felt as though I were watching it from the inside of a dank Russian Orthodox church.
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