Wood and Water

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1:52

Wood and Water

2022

1h 19m

Drama

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100%

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18 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

Anke retires from her job at the church in a small town in the Black Forest. She looks forward to reuniting with her children over the summer holidays by the Baltic Sea, at a place where they used to live as a young family, and where she lived her best years. At the last minute, her son Max is unable to join them because of the pro-democracy protests that are bringing Hong Kong, where he lives, to a standstill. She has been out of touch with him for many years and after an otherwise uneventful summer and facing the void of retirement, she decides to visit him. A mother wants to check in on her children every now and then, but Hong Kong is also her adventure. She takes up residence in his flat while Max is away on a business trip and cautiously begins to navigate this mysterious new world. Through conversations with strangers, she gradually settles in. A young woman who is sad to leave Hong Kong, Max's doorman, a psychiatrist, a fortune teller and a social activist. These encounters and her experience of the city help her to break down the inner walls she constructed years ago and make way for a new chapter in her life.

Phil Hoad

Guardian

Etched carefully by Bak’s minimalism and naturalism, both a cool philosophical detachment and a generosity of spirit are in fruitful opposition here.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 26, 2022

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

A beautiful that's not about much of anything at all.

Apr 19, 2022

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Claudia Puig

FilmWeek (LAist)

It's beautifully, very deliberately paced... Like a series of beautiful, static images -- which is not to say this is a static film.

Apr 19, 2022

Full Review

Ryan Swen

Taipei Mansions

One of the most special parts of Jonas Bak’s feature debut Wood and Water is its play with this constant, and how casually it integrates what in other films would be the lynchpin of their concept.

Sep 5, 2025

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Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

This doesn’t seem like inappropriate aestheticization but instead the respectful integration of an urgent reality...

Nov 28, 2022

Full Review

Carlos Bonfil

La Jornada

With self-proclaimed Belgian influences, Chantal Akerman (News from Home, 1976) looks through they eyes of Anke, an often quiet woman open to new experiences, and presents a global cartography out of contrasts and symbolism. [Full review in Spanish]

Jul 18, 2022

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Wood and Water: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Anke retires from her job at the church in a small town in the Black Forest. She looks forward to reuniting with her children over the summer holidays by the Baltic Sea, at a place where they used to live as a young family, and where she lived her best years. At the last minute, her son Max is unable to join them because of the pro-democracy protests that are bringing Hong Kong, where he lives, to a standstill. She has been out of touch with him for many years and after an otherwise uneventful summer and facing the void of retirement, she decides to visit him. A mother wants to check in on her children every now and then, but Hong Kong is also her adventure. She takes up residence in his flat while Max is away on a business trip and cautiously begins to navigate this mysterious new world. Through conversations with strangers, she gradually settles in. A young woman who is sad to leave Hong Kong, Max's doorman, a psychiatrist, a fortune teller and a social activist. These encounters and her experience of the city help her to break down the inner walls she constructed years ago and make way for a new chapter in her life.

Director: Jonas Bak
Producer: Charlotte Lelong
Screenwriter: Jonas Bak
Distributor: KimStim
Production Co: Trance Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 24, 2022, Limited
Runtime: 1h 19m

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