Watch River For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Blistering performances.

John Lake (Rossif Sutherland) is a doctor working for an NGO in Laos when he gets told to take some time off after a bit of 'stress' in the work place. So he heads to a peaceful part of the country for some 'r and r'. Then he sees a sexual assault taking place between a tourist and a local girl. He intervenes – and it does not take very long for things to go very bad, very quickly.Now that is the synopsis and to say anymore would be a bit of a plot spoiler, however this is a thriller so you know that there is going to be a lot more to this than just the above. And it manages the thriller part really well; the acting is all very good too as is the direction. This is one of those films that goes for down to earth realism rather than sensationalism and that helps it achieve the necessary level of authenticity that means that I, for one, was able to empathise with the characters and engage more deeply. This is one of those films that seem to have slipped by unnoticed, which is a pity as this is one that is very much worth checking out.

"Your face. What happened? I was very drunk last night. I was riding a bicycle, and I fell."Can you imagine this. One moment you're standing in an operating room amputating someones leg with a saw. The other moment you're running like a madman through Laos trying to outrun the authorities. This happens to John Lake (Rossif Sutherland), a hard-working doctor, who's sent on a well-deserved holiday after a discussion with the head doctor. At his destination (It surely isn't a five star all-inclusive resort) he's having a few drinks one evening, accompanied by an over friendly bartender. On his way to his humble hut he witnesses an assault on a local girl by a drunken, noisy Australian. And in a split second he makes the wrong decision. Before he knows it, he is a fugitive who's wanted for murdering the son of an Australian Senator and raping a native girl.The result is an intense manhunt for the guilty western doctor by the local police. And he's guilty. That's a fact. The only thing John has in mind, is not to go on trial in Laos itself. "River" is a film in which desperation, fear and guilt are palpable presence. John, sweaty, bloodied and bruised, is constantly on the run. A boat ride with a local resident. A lift from a couple dodgy looking men. A bus trip which happens to be controlled by a police patrol. It doesn't matter in what way he travels, as long as he stays out of the hands of the authorities and manages to reach a US Embassy. He even has to make a certain decision in the end, that goes against his moral principles. The result of this nerve-racking race, is that the film never pauses for a moment. The pace is blistering (probably appropriate for the climate there) fast and exhilarating.Rossif Sutherland (son of Donald and brother of Keifer Sutherland) acts convincingly. You can see the desperation and fear on his face. A chaotic flight where he relies entirely on his survival instinct. The intensity is unbearable and because of the sultry environment it's as if you can smell John's pungent body odor in your living room. Although the story is fairly straightforward and obvious, the ending is still surprising. Let me put it this way. It has a high "Oh come on" content. A bit against the flow compared to the rest of the movie. I guess the sense for justice presented itself to John suddenly. It's probably a personal trait. John can't resist to do good for others over and over again. More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

2.3 of 10. Nothing like a river in its style. Though the title and the story do eventually connect, that's about the only connection you feel from this. The thrills/suspense all feel artificial, forced without anything to be of a concern. The running looks more like jogging.Maybe the lead actor's connection to a Hollywood star is what gets this some free publicity, but it's not the story or his acting. This would be better setup as a tragic comedy about a naive American in a foreign country, but nobody involved seems to recognize it and you end up with a film taking its actors far too seriously.I wouldn't recommend this on any level. It tries to provide some meaningful commentary on international problems, but even that feels concocted within this film.

A North American doctor working in Laos accidentally kills an Australian man who has just raped a local woman. He then flees the authorities, while the situation is made worse for him by the revelation that the man he killed is a senator's son.This independent Canadian/Laos co-production is a chase thriller that stars Donald Sutherland's son Rossif Sutherland. He is in every scene and is pretty good in it, conveying the worrying scenario his character finds himself in convincingly. The story itself is quite spare with no wastage whatsoever. It moves at a very good pace, which I suppose you would expect from a chase film and it does build up some decent suspense at times. What takes it up to another level though is the setting. Not too many films are set in Laos and the exotic locales make for a very pleasing backdrop to events. Aside from this there is perhaps nothing particularly out of the ordinary in this one but it still works very well and is overall a well-executed, lean thriller.