River (2015) Reviews

• A lean thriller with exotic flavour

  Red-Barracuda2016-06-26

  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.

• Dark Tale of one man's long journey – set in Laos

  t-dooley-69-3869162016-10-31

  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.

• Maintains Decent Suspense But Plot Elements Can Be Illogical

  larrys32016-08-10

  Set mostly in Laos, this movie maintains a decent amount of tension and suspense, but some of its plot elements really defy logic. Don't expect any character development here, as the film is nearly exclusively an "on the lam" type flick. Rossif Sutherland (son of Donald) stars as Dr. John Lake, who's working at a NGO clinic in Vientiane, Laos. After disobeying the orders of the chief physician (Sara Botsford) in the operating room (containing some very graphic and bloody scenes), he's asked to take some time off to clear his mind. Traveling to southern Laos, John ends up in a physical altercation with an Australian man, (the son of an Australian Senator), whereby the Australian man is killed. While being questioned by the Laotian police, John panics and flees,and the remainder of the movie will focus on his attempts to escape capture, all leading to an ending that, in my opinion, really stretched credibility. All in all, this movie, written and directed by first time Canadian filmmaker Jamie M. Dagg, maintained enough suspense to keep me interested to the end, as I wondered how it would all turn out. However, as mentioned there is no character development and some of the plot machinations were just too nonsensical for me to swallow.

• Awesome thriller

  RussHog2016-10-01

  This is a super effective film. It is about a man who is accused of a crime in a foreign country - and his journey to avoid capture. Everywhere the main character goes he runs into danger that he could be caught - and the film is so well paced that it kept me on the edge of my seat. Really the film is about running from responsibility - yet at the same time - there is a murky line between guilt and innocence. It is somewhat similar to the film Midnight Cowboy - not quite as masterfully artistic - but defiantly worth the watch. There is a final reversal in the end of the film that is quite harrowing - and it made me really think about justice and responsibility - and heroism. Solid flick!

• A Canadian director directing a Laotian film?

  horitaj2016-11-20

  "River" is a Laotian film about John Lake, an American doctor working in Laos, who intervenes in the sexual assault of a young woman by an Australian tourist. His efforts of intervening lead to him killing the Australian tourist, being mistakenly accused of sexually assaulting the woman, and having him being a wanted fugitive. The film is directed by first time Canadian director Jamie M. Dagg, who does one hell of a job with this film. The film takes its time to develop the character of John and then throws him in this crazy situation that he mistakenly got himself into. I felt so empathetic towards John because he wanted to do the right thing, and by doing so he accidentally kills a guy and is falsely accused of assaulting a woman. The story is very simple and has been done in many other films before but what makes "River" standout is its realism and Rossif Sutherland's performance as John. Sutherland brings so much energy to this role and does an excellent job being a frantic, scared, and innocent person. As the film continues and John is on the run you later find out who the Australian tourist is related to which adds a new level of extremity to the situation. There's not a lot to say about the film story wise, you have a man on the run and doing what he can to not get arrested for false causes. The performances are great, the direction is great, and the cinematography is overall very well. A couple issues I had with the film is that during some scenes when John is being chased or running the camera is very shaky. And at the last ten or so minutes of the film something is revealed about the situation John's in which causes our character to make an action that didn't sit too well with me. Overall "River" is a wonderful directorial debut for Jamie Dagg, which displays great performances from Rossif Sutherland, and all of the cast as well. I'm looking forward to what this talented young man will do next.