Waterlife

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Waterlife

2009

1h 49m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Filmmaker Kevin McMahon looks into the natural beauty and environmental crisis surrounding the Great Lakes.

Peter Howell

Toronto Star

The veteran Canuck documentarian tours the five lakes -- Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario -- and reflects upon a sad litany of abuses that man and nature have inflicted upon this fragile fluidity.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 10, 2009

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Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

This threat shouldn't require any overselling, but McMahon can't resist and you seriously wish the script had gone through another level of filtration to take out more of the lumpy bits (and the excess of musical selections).

Rated: 2/4

Jun 5, 2009

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

An informative no-nonsense educational nature film about the future state of the deteriorating Great Lakes.

Rated: B

Oct 22, 2010

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Jam! Movies

Waterlife has a lot to say about the importance of the fresh water supplied by the Great Lakes, but the film doesn't neglect to show the extraordinary beauty of these bodies of water.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jun 5, 2009

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National Post

Rated: 2/4

Jan 1, 1800

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Audience Member

A documentary examining the Great Lakes elaborate ecosystem and the threat posed by climate change and pollution (hello Detroit). Hmmm why do 50% of beluga whales have cancer? Lets go back along the food chain and up the river to find out. Lets get horrified, scared and depressed by what we see. Some beautiful scenery but mostly this depressed the hell out of me. Why am I even bothering to recycle my meager tin cans when big companies are devastating the land and water and places like Chicago are still pumping their sewage into the waterways (you can't even touch the water there) Frustrating and well done documentary with some cool little graphics of carcinogens floating about and explained in a Jurassic Park (carton) sort of way. 08.13

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Some great shots of the Great Lakes, and an interesting soundtrack. The futue of our lakes doesn't look too good based on this film, which is depressing. Also has a really fun interactive movie website.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Audience Member

Was excited to watch this one and the first chunk of it is encouraging but it inevitably descends into a repetitive litany of environmental catastrophes (not in a good way)

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

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Audience Member

Follow the journey and tribulations of water through this last great fresh water resource, and see the tragic accidents of history as well as a reflection of how man is too dumb to know what's good for them.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

Nothing about this was engaging for me.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Audience Member

quite boring, and i hated that the maps weren't labelled.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Kevin McMahon

Director

Mark Achbar

Executive Producer

Silva Basmajian

Executive Producer

Betsy Carson

Executive Producer

Gerry Flahive

Producer

John M. Tran

Cinematographer

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Kevin McMahon looks into the natural beauty and environmental crisis surrounding the Great Lakes.

Director: Kevin McMahon
Producer: Gerry Flahive
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 49m