the way of water

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

The Ways of Water was made with the Earth Science Curriculum Project and the Environmental Studies Project of the American Geological Institute. A study of the water cycle on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, the narratorless, poetic film is enriched by Blank’s characteristically graceful and fluid camera movements. Its musical soundtrack was created using an analog synthesizer." - Dan Streible, notes from The 57th Robert Flaherty Film Seminar

A poetic collage of the various forms taken by the element of water. The film explores water’s vital importance and its never-ending motion. Lyrical scenes of wild mountain landscapes alternate with footage of people in the streets of a flooded city and images showing the useful power of water.

The observer gazes at the water, symbolizing life, & attempts to move upstream against the flow. When he reaches the source, he finds the struggle too much to bear. Eventually he decides to relax by the water, watching it flow by, embracing the calm. The water sound was recorded in Gheshm, Iran, while the visuals are from Abraham Lake & Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.