The Waterdance

Synopsis: A film about struggling to deal with paralysis. Author Joel Garcia breaks his neck while hiking, and finds himself in a rehabilitation centre with Raymond, an exaggerating ladies' man, and Bloss, a racist biker. Considerable tension builds as each character tries to deal with his new found handicap and the problems that go with it, especially Joel, whose lover Anna is having as difficult a time as he is. As Raymond reveals a dream about dancing on the surface of a lake to stay afloat, it becomes apparent that each of them must find his own Waterdance to survive his tragedy.
Genre: Drama, Romance
Production: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  5 wins & 5 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.9
Rotten Tomatoes:
93%
R
Year:
1992
106 min
154 Views


Hi, honey.

Hi.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Dr. Shapiro to radiology.

Dr. Shapiro,

please report to radiology.

- Hey, Joel. I'm Les, man.

- Pleasure.

Sorry I'm late, man.

Man, these people around here got

me running around like a dog.

Broke your neck, huh?

I was hoping

no one would notice.

That halo's

a dead giveaway, man.

How'd it happen?

Hiking accident.

Damn!

Out enjoying nature.

So, what do you do

for a living, Joel?

I'm a writer.

Is that right?

I'm a Stephen King man myself.

You like him?

He's fast.

Yeah, he's something else, man.

You got your hands?

It's all right, man. Don't sweat it.

They got computers, right?

You can type with your tongue.

Les!

Cincinnati trails 3-1.

They push one run across.

Three-one delivery...

Baby's comin' home

Les!

Be right back, man.

I am!

I am!

I am!

Les, I am!

Les, Vernon's calling you.

Yeah, thanks a lot.

Maybe I oughta teach him your name.

Joel, this is Rosa.

Rosa, this is Joel. Hi, Joel.

Les! See, the way it

works around here...

Is she's got the certificate,

but I really do all the work.

Don't listen to him.

He's always complaining.

Just stating the facts, ma'am.

Just stating the facts.

I am!

Hey, Jimmy, how ya doin'?

Mr. Gibson, hope they

had you up walking.

Oh, you know they did.

Rosita, Rosita,

eres tan bonita.

Victor! Flirting

in front of your wife?

Shame on you.

Um, everybody,

say hello to Joel.

He'll be with us for a while.

I am!

The guy almost kills me,

and he sends me

f***ing candy, mom.

They look really

expensive, Bloss.

Did you see the card?

The card is really nice.

Mommy, what do you want? You want me

to send him a f***ing thank-you note?

Les, I am!

I'm here, Vernon.

Don't worry about that.

You'll get used to it.

I'll go get your bed.

Les!

Yeah, look, I just wanna

talk to my woman.

A man has got a right to talk

to his woman, doesn't he?

No, I don't wanna hold!

Sh*t, I'm... sh*t. I am!

I'm gonna f***in' kill you, Vernon,

if you don't shut the f*** up!

I'm gonna slap you silly

if you don't shut the f*** up.

He does it just

to bother me, mom.

Rosa, we got to do something about these

phone people. I can't even call my woman.

I know, Raymond.

Well, it's frustrating.

Rosa! I need you in 57 right now.

Just a second.

If you need anything, just holler, okay?

I'll be back.

Mom. Mom, I'm interested

in stories, okay? What?

I am! I am!

Ready to put you through.

It's about time.

What the hell y'all doing

over there, playing dominoes?

There's no need

for sarcasm, sir.

I am!

Signorelli's pizza.

Gotta put you on hold.

Now this is ridiculous.

Mama, please, look.

Did you get the lawyer?

Well, I tell ya, I tried, Bloss, but I couldn't

get that blond off the phone today.

Did you know she's going out

with that Arthur again?

Yeah, mom, you told me.

I did? I told you?

You told me.

She's sleeping with an army a week,

mom! And she's still

leading the man on.

Mom, look, we gotta get this

lawyer thing arranged, mom.

Les!

I swear to God, Vernon!

Got you in the halo, huh?

Yeah, man, I call that thing

a crown of thorns.

I thought they was gonna screw

that thing right into my brain.

How you doing? My name is Raymond hill.

My friends call me Ray.

Joel. Nice to meet you, Joel.

Nice to meet you.

Oh, this here?

Yeah, well,

crazy man chewed it off

in a fight.

But that was in my lawless days.

Look, Joel, if you need anything...

glass of water, something

from the snack bar, Les!

Anything like that...

you just call on me, okay?

- Thanks.

- All right.

It's a hard knock,

isn't it, buddy?

Yeah, but one thing you got

to remember through it all...

Is that God got his plan.

Now take me, for instance.

I mean, I got a wife, a beautiful child.

I was treatin' 'em bad, you

know... lyin', cheatin', drinkin'.

I guess God just slowed me down now so I

can appreciate 'em. Know what I mean?

I am, Les, I am!

Goddamn!

Pile of brain sludge!

Les!

Les, I am.

That was not nice.

I should get you out of bed...

And make you apologize

to that poor man right now.

Hey, hey, there you are.

How you doing? Raymond hill.

My friends call me Ray.

Hi, I'm Anna.

Well, it's nice to meet you, Anna.

You two are married, huh?

No, we're friends.

Oh, excuse me. I saw the ring.

And I just...

I'm married.

You are?

Oh, right, right.

How is Donald?

David.

His name is David.

Oh, I gotcha. Yeah, Raymond

hill understands these matters.

Ooh! You're a lucky man

there, Joel.

A very perceptive guy.

Yeah.

Friends, huh?

Well, I like you.

I'm back, gentlemen.

Boy, did we miss you, nursey.

Love you too, Bloss. Hey, we're gonna

have that bed in five minutes.

I won't move.

Mr. Gibson,

ready to get in bed?

Oh, you know I am.

Let's do it.

I went over a couple of chapters, but you

don't wanna start back so soon, do you?

There's not much else to do.

I brought you...

These.

Kinda quiet in here, isn't it?

Yeah, very unusual.

Yeah.

Very unusual.

Be right back.

Thanks.

Sh*t.

Vernon's not breathing.

Call the code.

Pulse?

He's back.

Okay, respiration is spontaneous.

Let's get him to I.C.U.

What are you thinking?

Did you tell Donald?

David?

Yeah, of course I did.

I mean, about us.

I'm going to.

I should go.

It's late. Okay?

Good night.

Anna.

Hmm?

You seem to be taking

all this rather well.

Oh!

Sleep well.

If he died, I mean,

there could be murder charges,

then we'd have to be called

in as witnesses. Bullshit.

It's not bullshit.

That's the truth.

You know this hospital

isn't concerned about you.

Take care, beautiful.

Good night.

At least, manslaughter.

Shut up, Raymond.

Well, I think I should be more

depressed than I am, but I'm not.

Why is that?

My mom and my sister came to

visit when I was in intensive,

but I was... I was so high on

morphine, I didn't really notice.

I couldn't really tell who they were, which

pretty much sums up my family, I guess.

It's a nice sweater you've got on there.

Do all shrinks wear sweaters?

I remember Judd Hirsch had a nice

sweater on inordinary people.

I really rely mainly

on my girlfriend in this.

Yeah, she is nice.

She's great.

She's a great girl.

Smart, funny.

Unfortunately, she's married

to someone else, so...

...that he does not know

what's really going on.

It's really... it's not my problem.

He's her problem.

And... she's my problem.

And... now there's

this problem, so...

what, uh, what are you

writing there?

Well, you know,

I'm-I'm-I'm hopeful.

I am. I'm hopeful.

Oh, no, no, no.

I'm anticipating a psychological crash.

I have it penciled

into my calendar already.

I think it happens, you know,

next week sometime.

You know, I'm a writer.

That's what I do.

And I don't need to walk

to do that.

So, uh, this is denial,

right, doc?

Hey, Victor.

How you doing?

Bien, bien.

I have five months of this.

Well, it could be worse.

It could be your cooking.

Anna, I never cooked.

I heated.

How we doing, Mr.

Gibson? All right.

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Neal Jimenez

Neal Jimenez (born May 22, 1960) is a screenwriter and film director, best known for the 1986 film River's Edge. He was a member of the dramatic jury at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994. He won Independent Spirit Awards for Best First Feature and Best Screenplay for The Waterdance.Jimenez attended UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. In 1984, while a film student, he went hiking with some friends and slipped on a rock, falling twenty feet into a shallow pool below. He was initially paralyzed from the neck down but subsequent surgeries restored movement to his upper body and he has been a paraplegic since. The film The Waterdance, which he wrote and co-directed, was partly based on his experience in rehabilitation. He is of Mexican American descent. more…

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