kd 2009-01-04

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

This film shows how corporations are claiming water rights across the globe. Using the IMF and World Bank they are forcing third world countries to privitize their water systems. After this is done, the poor are unable to purchase the water.

Water is the next "blue gold." A must see film.

Kevin Quinley 2009-01-03

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

FLOW is a disquieting expose of water shortages, corporate involvement and the trend toward privatization of water. It is arresting and chilling in forecasting dire consequences if present trends continue. FLOW does seems to excoriate corporations.

Corporations = BAD
Profit = BAD
Consumer Groups = GOOD!
Solutions = ??? Uh, hmmm, D' OH!!

In the realm of solutions is where FLOW stops flowing quite as well, in my mind. No coherent alternative is offered other than getting local groups to stop Nestle, stop Vivendi, stop Suez, etc.

FLOW is better on the attack than it is in creating proposed solutions. If its viewing helps galvanize public support for reaching sane solutions, it will have achieved its aim.

Lorelia g. 2008-12-31

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Maybe the makers of this film should have considered the trees while packaging this movie. There is more wasted paper on this movie than a regular blockbuster! A four fold out DVD holder inside a sleeve. Sure the artwork is nice and the information on the misuse of plastic water bottles is informative, but please, let's not cut down any more trees to package this movie! "Did a handful of corporations steal our water?" the subtitle says. But what I'm wondering is "did this corporation steal our trees?"

Marie Kurz 2008-12-11

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

This film is a powerful introduction to the issues and conflicts surrounding water, water security and water rights. The film is thoughtful and galvanizing as well as highly informative. Water crisis is something we are all facing and it is important for people to understand what is at stake. FLOW examines the role of the World Bank, water privatization companies, and the bottled water industry in development, water exploitation, and water quality issues. The film includes interviews with experts, activists, executives and stakeholders. Key case studies are taken from around the world, including India, the US, Bolivia and Lesotho.

Additional reading that might be of interest:
Imperial Nature: The World Bank and Struggles for Social Justice in the Age of Globalization (Yale Agrarian Studies Series)
Thirst: Fighting the Corporate Theft of Our Water
Narmada Dammed: An Inquiry into the Politics of Development

Preston C. Enright 2008-11-25

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

There's a battle going on for the source of life, water. Our corporate media isn't saying much about it, but across the globe citizens are struggling against transnational corporations like Nestle and Vivendi which are seizing the dwindling fresh water supplies. It's an absolutely critical topic that this film explains in an informative and inspiring fashion. "Flow" takes us to Bolivia Cochabamba!: Water War in Bolivia, South Africa, India Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit, Michigan and beyond; and introduces us to the people who are being harmed by corporate tyrannies that are claiming the water of their land. Big businesses are making a fortune as they pollute or divert water supplies, or bottle it for sale at prices that the world's poor cannot afford.
People in the wealthy nations may feel they are immune from this crisis, but they too are being ripped off by the bottled water racket and poisoned by the continuing toxification of water with synthetic chemicals Toxic Legacy: Synthetic Toxins in the Food, Water and Air of American Cities.
"Flow" features many heroes we don't yet know the names of, like Vandana Shiva and Maude Barlow; but we are fortunate they have been slowing the march of the corporate fundamentalists The Corporation. People concerned about health and justice will want to contribute to the cause of water rights for humans, not for CEOs. Buying and sharing this film is a great first step. Subscribing to magazines like Onearth also helps, as the Natural Resources Defense Council is featured in this film due to the research and litigation they've been advancing on this and so many other pressing environmental issues.
Parts of this film will anger the viewer, but that mood is a natural and necessary part of the process toward social change. The film ends on an optimistic note about the power of the people, something that elites have feared for centuries The Chomsky Sessions: Noam Chomsky On The World.
Let's make the change we and our children so desperately need Yes!.

See also:
Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It
Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World's Water
Water Consciousness