The Waterdance

R

1992

1h 46m

Drama

List

94%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

63%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Injured in a climbing accident, writer Joel Garcia (Eric Stoltz) wakes up in a hospital having lost the use of his legs. Soon after, he's placed in a recovery ward where he begins the arduous process of rehabilitation and meets others with injuries like his own. Raymond (Wesley Snipes) is a ladies' man whose girl has nevertheless split, and Bloss (William Forsythe) is a rather prejudiced biker. Together, this unlikely trio helps one another to overcome the greatest challenge of their lives.

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John A

Caught this via DVD years ago expecting a stirring little character study that would stick with me for a long time. I greatly overestimated the prowess of this semi-Lifetime Channel film.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/28/23

Full Review

dave s

While The Waterdance never dares to do anything differently, it is a solid movie that centers around a young man (Eric Stoltz) and his struggles, both emotionally and physically, with rehab after being horribly injured in a hiking accident. Supported by his girlfriend (Helen Hunt) and a pair of fellow patients (Wesley Snipes, William Forsythe), he slowly comes to terms with his paralysis as he pieces his life back together. Despite a sometimes annoying and distracting music score, the film succeeds on the strength of the collective performances, its deliberate pacing and the smart script by Neal Jimenez, a paraplegic himself.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

jon c

Neal Jimenez and Micheal Steinberg direct William Forsythe, Wesley Snipes, Helen Hunt, Grace Zabriskie Injured in a climbing accident, writer Joel Garcia wakes up in a hospital having lost the use of his legs Soon after, he's placed in a recovery ward where he begins the arduous process of rehabilitation and meets others with injuries like his own Raymond is a ladies' man whose girl has nevertheless split, and Bloss is a rather prejudiced biker Together, this unlikely trio helps one another to overcome the greatest challenge of their lives A drama all about recovering not just physically but emotionally too Raymond has strained relations with his wife and daughter considering he was abusive before his accident, Bloss has a candid attitude, and Joel is worried Anna is going to leave him for another man that can actually walk All of them have issues even with their handicaps The actors are good and there's a proper amount of emotion We see their everyday process of continuing one's life under a tragically altered set of circumstances This ends up being too long though But it's the most realistic portrayal dealing a spinal cord injury plus Jimenez bases this story on personal experience

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Do you do you do you do you want to dance?

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

william s

Storytelling at it's finest,it's both heartbreaking and funny with fine,fine performances.One of the years best.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Frances H

Good drama about paraplegics adjusting to their state in a rehab center with a good cast headed up by Eric Stolz and Helen Hunt.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/16/14

Full Review

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Neal Jimenez

Director

Michael Steinberg

Director

Eric Stoltz

Joel Garcia

Helen Hunt

Anna

William Allen Young

Les

James Roach

Guy in the Electric Wheelchair

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Steve Davis

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 4/5

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Films are so often about big, dumb conflicts and predictable conclusions. The Waterdance is about the everyday process of continuing one's life under a tragically altered set of circumstances.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

The Waterdance is one of the most realistic films ever released dealing with the subject of adjusting to life with a spinal cord injury.

Rated: 4.0/4.0

Aug 30, 2020

Full Review

Malcolm Johnson

Hartford Courant

All of this is played out with poignancy, realism, humor and touches of poetry by a devoted and varied cast.

Apr 13, 2018

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

What's most striking about the film is its meticulous attention to detai, authenticity, and tight focus: This is the story of 3 ordinary guys, not war heroes, who happen to be in wheel chairs; Jimenez based the script on his personal experience.

Rated: A-

Oct 31, 2006

Full Review

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Synopsis

Injured in a climbing accident, writer Joel Garcia (Eric Stoltz) wakes up in a hospital having lost the use of his legs. Soon after, he's placed in a recovery ward where he begins the arduous process of rehabilitation and meets others with injuries like his own. Raymond (Wesley Snipes) is a ladies' man whose girl has nevertheless split, and Bloss (William Forsythe) is a rather prejudiced biker. Together, this unlikely trio helps one another to overcome the greatest challenge of their lives.

Director: Neal Jimenez, Michael Steinberg
Production Co: No Frills Film Production
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 22, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.7M
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo