The Backwater (2013)

What a hopeless story. Lots of dysfunctional family dynamics; it's no wonder Tooma is so messed up. The old adage of nature vs. nurture runs true here. If he'd been properly cared for growing up by an actual family that understood children are to be sheltered and not exposed to cruelty and sexual violence then maybe he would have grown up fine. The character started messed up and ends messed up. I don't see much progression at all.

I'm not sure the hype about Suda's performance is deserved. He feels impassive to me, unapproachable and distant. There isn't much to work with. He had more life in "Drowning Love," to be honest, and is far more engaging in "Todome no Kiss" or "My Little Monster." The praise for him in "The Backwater" is probably more due to the depressing nature of the film itself, the fact that he was willing to go naked (although they're still careful about his nudity), and that he was so young to take on such a mature role. He didn't really have to do much acting, just curl up into a depressed ball, run through the streets in the rain, and strip naked when called upon.

On the flipside, Suda's love of independent films clearly started here. Do with that what you will, good, bad, or indifferent.

"The Backwater" isn't a film I would never watch again, like his "Love at Least," but I don't regret watching it once. I just came out of it with a somewhat numb sensation. Never before has such a sexually explicit film been so very ugly.

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