The Pool (2008)
85%RT Audience Score: 73%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Beautifully crafted with loosely drawn characters and a lilting, natural pace, Chris Smith’s The Pool features a universal message to which everyone can relate
The Pool” is a movie that takes you on a journey to South India, where you get to experience the rural culture and the poverty of the underclass. While the plot may not be action-packed, the film’s natural and unforced style, along with the pure-and-simple performances, make it a fascinating narrative. The movie manages to find moving moments through subtle observation, and the largely non-professional cast delivers engaging performances. Overall, “The Pool” is a truthful, moving story of class, ambition, friendship, and romantic yearning that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Plus, who doesn’t love a good pool?
Production Company(ies)
Produzioni De Sica
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2019
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.78 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):Thai
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Sep 10, 2018
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Venkatesh Chavan, Jahangir Badshah, Ayesha Mohan, Nana Patekar, directed by Chris Smith, written by Chris Smith, Randy Russell, drama, Hindi language, box office gross $94.9K, reviewed by Tim Robey, Derek Malcolm, Peter Bradshaw, David Jenkins, Nigel Andrews, David Parkinson, Adam Lowes, Alistair Harkness, Philip French, Rich Cline, Allan Hunter, Hannah McGill, universal message, working-class youth, wealthy family, poverty, India, natural pace, subtle observation, engaging characters, involving story, non-professional cast, sweetly elemental, classic tale
Worldwide gross: $201,822
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $233,196
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,905
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 25,430
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Jahangir Badshah – Jhangir
Ayesha Mohan – Ayesha
Nana Patekar – Nana
Chris Smith – Director, Screenwriter
Director(s)
Chris Smith
Writer(s)
Chris Smith, Randy Russell
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (2)
[A] wholly unobjectionable, likeably performed but faintly soporific drama …
November 16, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It tells you a lot about South India, its essentially rural culture and the stifling poverty of its underclass.
November 16, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Smith’s film is natural and unforced, with a winning fluency and calm observational style.
November 15, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Hopefully Smith will make more movies in this laid-back, poetic style.
November 15, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
David Jenkins
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Here are filigree detailing, pure-and-simple performances (especially from Venkatesh Chavan as the boy) and a subtly lambent moral tale …
November 15, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
A fascinating narrative set in modern-day Indian and full of insights into a class-riven country.
November 13, 2012 | Rating: 2/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
A gentle, leisurely-told tale which strenuously avoids anything resembling even the slightest trace of melodrama, and it manages to find moving moments through subtle observation.
February 5, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Adam Lowes
CineVue
Though plot-wise nothing much happens, Smith elicits strong sense of place and teases out the film’s themes …
December 17, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Alistair Harkness
Scotsman
It’s a subtle, truthful, moving story of class, ambition, friendship and romantic yearning, extremely well acted by a largely non-professional cast.
November 18, 2012
Philip French
Observer (UK)
Shot with a level of realism we rarely seen in Indian cinema, this film combines sharply engaging characters with an involving story that really gets under the skin. A
November 16, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Rich Cline
Contactmusic.com
Told with real warmth and charm, this is a confidently handled tale boosted by natural, engaging performances from Venkatesh and Jahangir Badshah as his young friend.
November 16, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Allan Hunter
Daily Express (UK)
It tells a tale so sweetly elemental and classic that it could pretty much have happened along at any point in storytelling history.
November 13, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Hannah McGill
The List…
Plot
Day, an insecure art director of a commercial production company is left alone to clear up a 6-meter deep deserted pool after the shooting. He falls asleep on an inflatable raft due to an unbearable fatigue. When he wakes up again the water level has sunk so low that he cannot climb out of the pool on his own. He screams for help but the only thing that hears him is some creature from a nearby crocodile farm.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels mentions that the cast of The Pool is largely non-professional.
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