Aquarela
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: August 16, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The PlaylistChristian GallichioAug 19, 2019
Aquarela is truly a theatrical experience that benefits from the dark, distraction-free nature of the theater, in which the cycles of water, from frozen lakes to hurricanes, becomes an all-consuming force. Read full review
90
VarietyGuy LodgeAug 15, 2019
A feast of HD imagery so crisp as to be almost disorienting, this is immersive experiential cinema with no firm storytelling trajectory, though viewers can read what environmental warnings they may into its rushing spectacle. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranAug 15, 2019
it’s an unexpectedly unnerving film that’s at least as terrifying as it is beautiful. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAug 15, 2019
The movie, like the elemental forces we continue to exacerbate, never explains itself. Surrender to it, though, and a narrative - of spectacle, conflict and retaliation - will eventually become clear. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternAug 15, 2019
A work of singular beauty and a significant technical achievement, the film makes water audible — the thumps and groans of calving glaciers sound like the planet coming apart — and almost palpable; heaving mountains of blue-black waves in an Atlantic storm convey stupendous mass and titanic energy as in no motion picture I’ve seen before. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerSep 4, 2019
It's the astounding score by Eicca Toppinen and his bandmates in cello-metal innovators Apocalyptica that gives the film its structure. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayAug 13, 2019
Aquarela is first and foremost a spectacle. When the Apocalyptica music is cranked up high, and the screen’s awash in dazzlingly sharp, hypnotically swirling images of cresting waves, viewers could certainly take a moment to contemplate the importance of water to our global ecosystem. Or they could just drink it in. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyJan 22, 2020
Shot in 96-frames-per-second, this is a stunning, thrilling chronicle of nature at its angriest. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawDec 13, 2019
Victor Kossakovsky’s Aquarela is an absorbing and disturbing spectacle, a sensory film about the climate crisis, and it begins with what might be the soundtrack to the end of the world – a persistent tinkling, crackling, trickling. Read full review
80
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottSep 25, 2019
It triggers a sense of awe, for the pure, natural beauty it allows us to witness; for the raw, ruthless power it captures; and for its towering display of artistry. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinAug 15, 2019
Aquarela takes a deep dive into watery realms around the world, offering up an experience that can truly be described as immersive. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter TraversAug 15, 2019
This eyepopper from Russian director-writer-cinematographer-editor Victor Kossakovsky (¡Vivan Las Antípodas!) is like nothing you’ve ever seen. His free-form documentary on water opens by scaring us to death. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerAug 22, 2019
Aquarela’s soundtrack shifts from ambient post-rock to gnarly speed-metal to widescreen strings. The effect is a serenely apocalyptic warning: Climate change is a killer, with water as its indiscriminately lethal weapon. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyAug 16, 2019
This is a purely sensationalistic cinematic experience that paradoxically encourages reflection and contemplation. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonAug 12, 2019
At heart, Victor Kossakovsky's Aquarela is a war film: a cacophonous survey of the global battle between man and water. Read full review
70
Screen DailyDemetrios MatheouAug 15, 2019
The downside to the film is Kossakovsky’s feeling that he had to include people in the mix. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 27, 2019
It’s a pretty interesting nature documentary as far as it goes. But given its globe-trotting scope and the risky location work involved for the filmmakers, it’s a tiny bit strange Aquarela goes only so far. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanAug 19, 2019
As startling as the crisp and, yes, dramatic images may be, a sense of slight monotony sometimes creeps in after so many shots of ice, calving glaciers, heaving waves, sea foam, rain, snow, fog, mist, etc. Despite these occasional moments of tedium, however, the film is at once chilling and likely to make your blood boil. Read full review
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