The Waterdance

Eric Stoltz, Wesley Snipes and William Forsythe play three very different men brought together into a hospital ward after each of them has received a paralyzing injury. This is a great film based on the true life experiences of writer/co-director Neil Jiminez. This isn't your typical, sappy, uplifting film about men overcoming personal tragedy. The characters here aren't idealized. They aren't saints. They are alternately angry, confused, prejudiced, self-pitying or funny: in other words, real human beings. This is perhaps the best film ever about men in wheelchairs, but don't let that image scare you. This film is both funny and poignant. Don't miss it.

I know, that's not what you expect from a film with this sort of

lineage- it's a direct descendant of The Best Years of Our Lives

and The Men... films dealing with men who are in the hospital

dealing with tragic circumstances. But this film is full of wonderful

surprises and performances. It features stellar performances from

Eric Stoltz and Helen Hunt (including a rather risque nude scene)

and Wesley Snipes and William Forsythe. As Emanuel Levy wrote

in his book Cinema of Outsiders (about the Independent film

movement) "The Waterdance is coherant, attentive to detail, and

unsentimental with a wicked down to earth humor- it' s at once

funny and sad, and the entire cast is impressive." I was

extraordinarily moved by this film, it's hard hitting yes, but also has

very tender moments and laugh out loud moments. A rare gem.

I loved working on this film with Neal and Michael. It was gold in my hands, and I knew it. Cut on film, the script and performances were superb, and I am so glad to see your reviewer gave Mr. Forsythe his due, as I absolutely loved him in this film. The first day of dailies he came up to me, leaned into me very closely and said "Choices, Jeff, choices", and then walked away. His choices were wonderful, and he won best actor at the Houston Film Festival, and the film took the Audience Award and the Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 1992. Neal was wonderful to work with, and is still a close friend, and that cannot be said of too many in this fickle town. He wrote a great script, and he and Mike got the performances of a lifetime out of everyone. Eric, Helen Hunt, one of Wesley Snipe's best to this day, and it was wonderful to be a part of the experience that was Neal's life. It was also interesting that Gale Anne Hurd, of action movie fame (Terminator, etc.), chose to produce it and get the film made. When it won at Sundance she threw her arms around me and said "We did it!" Neal, of course, was the man who did it, but it was great to be along on that ride. Jeff Freeman

I flipped by this movie on late night cable and was compelled to watch it. It was about 1:00 am on a work night but I could not bring myself to turn off the TV and go to bed (I am so glad I did not.) I would have to rank this movie in my personal top 5. In spite of its obvious low budget, the story line and the actors/actresses portrayals of their characters is outstanding. I was deeply moved by the compassion of Hunt's character. It is a shame that this movie was released in '92 as it could well be a Box Office smash with today's media promotion. 2 Thumbs to the cast and crew of this masterpiece.

This film never received the attention it deserved, although this is one of the finest pieces of ensemble acting, and one of the most realistic stories I have seen on screen. Clearly filmed on a small budget in a real V.A. Hospital, the center of the story is Joel, very well-played by Eric Stoltz. Joel has been paralyzed in a motorcycle accident, and comes to the hospital to a ward with other men who have spinal injuries. Joel is in love with Anna, his married lover, played by Helen Hunt, who shows early signs of her later Academy-Award winning work.

Although the Joel-Anna relationship is the basic focus, there are many other well-developed characters in the ward. Wesley Snipes does a tremendous job as the angry Raymond. Even more impressive is William Forsythe as the bitter and racist Bloss. I think Forsythe's two best scenes are when he becomes frustrated and angry at the square dancers, and, later, when he feels empathy for a young Korean man who has been shot in a liquor store hold up. My favorite scene with Snipes is the in the roundtable discussion of post-injury sexual options.

The chemistry between Stoltz and Hunt is very strong, and they have two very intimate, but not gratuitous, sex scenes. The orgasm in the ward is both sexy and amusing. There is also another memorable scene where Joel and Bloss and the Korean boy take the specially-equipped van to the strip bar. It's truly a comedy of errors as they make their feeble attempts to get the van going to see the "naked ladies."

The story is made even more poignant by the fact that the director, Neal Jimenez, is paralyzed in real life. This is basically his story. This film is real, not glossy or flashy. To have the amount of talent in a film of such a small budget is amazing. I recommend this film to everyone I see, because it is one of those films that even improves on a second look. It's a shame that such a great piece of work gets overlooked, but through video, perhaps it can get the attention it so richly deserves.