80
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternA 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.
- 90The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe 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.
- 90Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth Turanit’s an unexpectedly unnerving film that’s at least as terrifying as it is beautiful.
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayAquarela 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.
- 80Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThis 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.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinThe Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinAquarela takes a deep dive into watery realms around the world, offering up an experience that can truly be described as immersive.
- 75Slant MagazineKeith WatsonSlant MagazineKeith WatsonAt heart, Victor Kossakovsky's Aquarela is a war film: a cacophonous survey of the global battle between man and water.
- 75RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyThis is a purely sensationalistic cinematic experience that paradoxically encourages reflection and contemplation.
- 70Screen DailyDemetrios MatheouScreen DailyDemetrios MatheouThe downside to the film is Kossakovsky’s feeling that he had to include people in the mix.