Coldwater (2014)

"Welcome to paradise boys. This is Coldwater. I am Colonel Frank Reichert, United States Marine Corps, retired. You can call me Colonel. You can call me sir. It's up to you. The choice is yours. Life here, gentlemen, is very simple. Let's not bullshit each other. You're here because you f*cked up. We're here to fix that. So, you show me that you have a willingness and desire to change. Simple as that.""Coldwater" eventually evolved into a rather impressive and hard pruning drama in which the existence of so-called re-education camps in the US are denounced. The film isn't based on an actual true story (I guess), but is an outline of how things are done in such disciplinary camps that actually exist there and where the shown practices are applied daily. These places are rather prison camps where humiliation is a standard instead of re-education. The objective is more like a psychological torture of young people who end up there, with the sole purpose to get them back on the right track before they risk an actual prison sentence. The juveniles are sent there at the insistence of the parents to guide them into a better and controlled life without crime. But I'm afraid some youngsters end up there because parents are fed up with them or are in the process of picking up their own miserable lives without a reluctant and rebellious child. This is proved by the presence of a sniveling chubby kid who was send over there because he got bad grades in school and did some ditching.We see Brad Lunders (PJ Boudousqué) being lifted from his bed in the middle of the night, being handcuffed and dumped in a van between some other victims, while his mother looks at it with a face scarred by guilt. And before he knows it he arrives in camp "Coldwater", led by the former marine Colonel Frank Reichert (James C. Burns) who believes in certain values like discipline and disciplinary penalties for indiscipline. It's obvious that some practices aren't really kosher and are being covered with the cloak of charity. Reichert is assisted by trustees : young men who also ended up there once and voluntarily, or perhaps forcibly, choose to participate in the re-education of young offenders. This place somewhere in the middle of nowhere is like hell on earth for these internees and can be compared to a prison camp from the 2nd World War. Perhaps the applied tortures aren't as horrible as those in that period, but the impact of it on these young people is indisputable. Similarly for Brad who realizes that he can only survive by accepting this rotten system and realizes it's best to fit the straitjacket prescribed by the sadistic camp leader.I'm sure this will be repeated indefinitely, but Boudousqué eerily resembles Ryan Gosling. Not only his physical appearance but also his style of acting is the same as that of Gosling. That stoic calmness he exudes, that serene facial expression showing how he assesses each situation and the determination with which he concentrates on the intended goal. But despite his angelic appearance he's not unconditional innocent. In terms of character he differs at first sight considerably with the character of Burns. But on second thoughts they are more alike than you'd expect : they both suffer from a traumatic experience out of the past and they both have leadership qualities. And despite that Brad hates the Colonel and wants to pull the rug out from underneath him , he could definitely become someone like him."Coldwater" was a terrific movie to watch, despite the sometimes uncomfortable scenes. Perfectly imaged, at the right pace. Vincent Grashaw intuitively developed this difficult story. Without realizing, a period of 2 years elapsed subtly punctuated by several flashbacks which gave us an insight into the life of Brad. Certainly not in a disturbing way and brought in a fluid manner. And the moment you conclude that it's apparently a typical moralizing film, the final denouement hits you like a sledgehammer. A discharge of pent-up anger and frustration that degenerates into a chaotic situation full of rage and revenge. Ultimately the film leaves you with mixed feelings. As soon as the situation became clear, there's a sense of compassion and you sympathize with the youngsters who try to survive in these inhumane conditions. By the end this feeling is still reverberating, but perhaps some of them really belonged there. I'm sure these situations don't occur everywhere as shown here. However, it is better to avoid such a place as "Coldwater".More reviews here : http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be

Really sick and disgusting. Full of non-stop gratuitous violence with absolutely zero redemptive quality. The people that made this horrendously awful piece-o-crap 'film' need to go thru some kind of remedial movie-making boot camp. (complete with the kind of egregious physical torture they induced thru out this abortion of a miscarriage called a 'movie'.) The only thing worse than the actors involved in this film, is the audience that is forced to sit thru it. This noir is a truly revolting, resoundingly repugnant waste of anyone's oxygen to spend any time at all viewing. Take a dump on this movie and spend your time watching paint dry. It will be much more fulfilling. This is the kind of 'film-making' that makes me believe anyone can make a film.. and amazingly.. some company will actually distribute it.. truly a wonder.. This is the worst movie I've seen in... well.. ever. Really, really, really, really bad!

No joke, at first, I actually believed it was Ryan Gosling who was playing in this film. Young Ryan Gosling. Besides that, it's a great film, one one the best juvenile delinquency films kind ever made for me. In the line of DOG POUND, four years ago. Terrific performances every where here. The director explained he avoided rape sequences, especially at the beginning, but he did not avoid torture scenes, especially the one with the pin Under the nail...The independent American film industry seems very interesting these times, a billion miles ahead of the usual Hollywood crap. A great film.

I just saw this movie at its premiere at SXSW. It's an intense film about a young man who is sent to be 'transformed' at what you might call a juvenile detention camp. Things deteriorate as the Colonel, played masterfully by James C. Burns, begins to unravel himself. The film is carried by newcomer PJ Boudousque, a name we should start getting used to. In his first film, he plays Brad Lunders, a teenager haunted by the mistakes of his past but determined to change his future, and that of anyone close to his orbit. His performance is intense and meaningful, saying as much with a look as he might with 100 words. Vincent Grashaw does a marvelous job with all the young cast, each bringing something very special to the film. The score is a triumph.I loved this film, and think for many people involved it will be the start of something big.