The Waterdance (1992)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Directors:

Neal Jimenez
Michael Steinberg

Writer (WGA):

Neal Jimenez (written by)

Release Date:

13 May 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Imagine being trapped inside your own body. Imagine being set free.

Plot:

An oft overlooked film about struggling to deal with paralysis. Author Joel Garcia breaks his neck while hiking...

Plot Keywords:

Handicap | Sex Scene | Wheelchair | Racial Slur | Female Nudity

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Eric Stoltz	...	Joel Garcia
Helen Hunt	...	Anna
William Allen Young	...	Les
James Roach	...	Guy in the Electric Wheelchair
Elizabeth Peña	...	Rosa
Henry Harris	...	Mr. Gibson
Tony Genaro	...	Victor
Eva Rodriguez	...	Victor's Wife
Erick Vigil	...	Victor's Son
Edgar Rodriguez	...	Victor's Son
Angélica Castell	...	Victor's Daughter
William Forsythe	...	Bloss
Grace Zabriskie	...	Pat
Wesley Snipes	...	Raymond Hill
Kimberly Scott	...	Alice

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-10 | Germany:12 | Sweden:11 | USA:R | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

No Frills Film Production

Trivia:

Eric Stoltz spent three months in a wheelchair in preparation for his role in this movie, and stayed in the chair throughout filming as well.

Quotes:

[after Joel nearly crashes the van they're in]
Joel Garcia: Boy, he sure came out of nowhere, didn't he?
Sang: It's a good thing we're already paralyzed.

Movie Connections:

References Ordinary People (1980)

A sensitive eye-opener

This was one of those films I probably never would have picked off the shelf , but it came on IFC one day and I said - Eric Stolz, William Forsythe...why not? If I'd changed the channel, I would have really missed a treasure.

The subject is depressing - young author paralyzed in climbing accident convalesces in lower-class rehabilitation center. It would have been so easy and tempting to make this a manipulative tear-jerker. But, that doesn't happen because it was written by Neal Jimenez, after he himself was accidently paralyzed. No Hollywood happiness here. All of the patients in the ward come from wildly different backgrounds, but they share a feeling of helplessness, of being at the mercy of others. Stolz is very good as a "lone wolf" type, forced into embarrassing dependence on his girlfriend (Helen Hunt); Wesley Snipes is fine as a former ladies' man whose family is falling apart; but William Forsythe takes the cake as a tough guy determined to make someone pay for taking away his independence.

See this film.