Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Strength of Water

Play trailer Poster for The Strength of Water 2009 1h 26m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A mysterious stranger's arrival in an isolated town forces Kimi and Melody apart and forces Kimi to let go of what he loves the most.

Critics Reviews

View More
Jake Wilson The Age (Australia) 12/02/2009
3/5
There are more ambitious films around at the moment than The Strength of Water, but it would be a shame if this small gem were forgotten in the Christmas rush. Go to Full Review
Kate Rodger Newshub (NZ) 08/23/2019
3.5/5
It's a story of childhood, family, love, and loss, and if you're in the right mood, is a worthy watch. Go to Full Review
Leigh Paatsch Herald Sun (Australia) 12/09/2009
3.5/5
Acting, cinematography and a beautiful array of stunning open-air locations are all worth the price of admission. Go to Full Review
Craig Mathieson sbs.com.au 12/02/2009
3/5
Ballantyne is more interested in examining the Maori community's everyday lives, and how they sit in relation to their traditions, than in making political observations. The key notes here are universal, most notably the half-life of grief. Go to Full Review
Louise Keller Urban Cinefile 11/28/2009
With its unique Maori backdrop, this moody drama about life, death and coming to terms with both is punctuated by a well devised fantasy element. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
02/04/2013 Truth and honesty sets its scene in a beautiful New Zealand backdrop, Hokianga. A fragile story of family love brought to its knees, impacting the family as whole and a young boy who's a twin. His questions and reasoning can only be answered by himself and his belief his sister can save him. A simple yet haunting movie powered emotively by loss, grief and anger. The Strength of Water is my first recommendation. See more 12/13/2012 Found this movie by accident. The location is where I was brought up and the story is great. Can easily relate to the film. See more 04/27/2012 I happened upon this film having never heard of it before. It tells the story of 10 year old twins (boy & girl) who live on a farm outside of a rural community on the coastline of New Zealand. When the sister dies unexpectedly the brother is faced with a reality he can't possibly comprehend and so he pretends it never happened. The sister's apparition follows him everywhere and as the film progresses the boy must bring himself to let her go. Its a beautiful film that's both tragic and magical. It's haunting premise and wintery setting remind me of Vincent Ward's film Vigil and the two movies are very similar. Hopefully people will hear about this film and see it. Very good. See more 04/02/2011 just beautiful, emotional piece. See more 06/06/2010 Drags along with a storyline, which doesnt promise much See more 06/02/2010 Kimi and Melody are 10 year old twins living with their parents and several siblings on a farm on the Hokianga coast. They deliver eggs around the district - and favour a hen they've named Aroha. The arrival of Tai, a teenage drifter looking to move into the local tapu house that belonged to his grandfather, is followed by a terrible accident. Kimi must learn to live apart from Melody, and Tai must learn to deal with the hostility of those in the small community who equate him with the cursed house. There's also Tirea, a teenage girl who finds fragile understanding with the outcast Tai. Why strength of water? The film starts and ends with jellyfish. Loss and renewel, sadness and hope flow through the film. See more Read all reviews
The Strength of Water

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
The Merry Gentleman 65% 51% The Merry Gentleman Watchlist Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring 94% 92% Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring Watchlist Rabbit Hole 86% 72% Rabbit Hole Watchlist Morning 45% 25% Morning Watchlist Fireflies in the Garden 21% 45% Fireflies in the Garden Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A mysterious stranger's arrival in an isolated town forces Kimi and Melody apart and forces Kimi to let go of what he loves the most.
Director
Armagan Ballantyne
Producer
Karl Baumgartner, Fiona Copland, Raimond Goebel
Screenwriter
Briar Grace Smith
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 26m