Product Details

• Actors: Arundhati Roy, Bulgi Sonkaria, Luhariya Sonkaria
• Directors: Franny Armstrong
• Producers: Franny Armstrong
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Cinema Libre
• DVD Release Date: March 28, 2006
• Run Time: 75 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000EBCECM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,215 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Drowned Out" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Shot over three years by director Franny Armstrong (McLibel) this documentary tells the true story of one family's inspired stand against the destruction of their land homes and culture. The villagers had three choices: Move to the slums in the city; relocate to a barren resettlement site with no drinking water or stay at home and drown.The people of Jalsindhi in central India must make a decision fast. In the next few weeks their village will disappear underwater as the giant Narmada Dam fills. Best-selling author Arundhati Roy joins the fight against the dam. This film follows the Jalsindhi villagers through hunger strikes rallies police brutality and a six year Supreme Court case. It stays with them as the dam fills and the river starts to rise. This critically-acclaimed film has been viewed by over 14 million people world-wide.System Requirements:Running Time 87 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 881394301221 Manufacturer No: TFC30122

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drowned Out a VERY important Film to See!, July 19, 2007

By 

Diana Rohini LaVigne "Online Editor, Indianl... (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drowned Out (DVD)

Title: Drowned Out (2002)
Starring: Nina Wadia
Director: Franny Armstrong
Format: DVD
Review By: Diana Rohini LaVigne, Indian Life & Style Magazine

The scary reality of Indians living in the path of progression is brought to life by the expert talents of director Franny Armstrong. Rather than leave their home which is slated for destruction to make room for the newly created Narmada dam, they decide to stay and face being drowned by the rising waters. The filmmakers produce a well-balanced look at the dilemma and explore the difficult challenges faced by the region which includes police brutality, hunger strikes and an ongoing court case about this situation. As the river water rises, film viewers take a look at the horrific situation emerging day by day.

Drowned Out is a valuable film for understanding the down side to India's ever-growing obsession with dam building and brings up the finer reasons that dams are not only a solution, but also dams are a major problem.
Drowned Out encourages viewers to take another look at the human side of dam building.

It was visually powerful and a compassionate look at those who suffer the most at the hands of the industrialization of the area. It is a film worth seeing many times!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drowned Out, May 21, 2007

By 

Peggy Jean (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drowned Out (DVD)

I have read a considerable amount about the flooding of villages and farms in India for Hydropower Dams, but this documentary film was an unbelievably intimate experience with the people going through deciding whether or to re-locate or to stay on their lands as the waters rose. It is informative, moving - but not entertaining. I'd recommend it highly to anyone who cares to bear witness to lives we would otherwise never know of.

4.0 out of 5 stars Strong, human political/ecological documentary, April 8, 2011

By 

K. Gordon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Drowned Out (DVD)

Very good, if not quite great, this documentary about poor villagers being cruelly displaced
by a massive dam project in India has some emotional and powerful moments.

There's no pretense of objectivity here - this is a film with a point of view, and it expresses
it strongly.

The weak spots are a certain sense of repetition, and a back of the mind feeling that good
and bad might be a bit more complex than shown here - we're asked to take some of the film's
key assertions on face value, without question or rebuttal.

None-the-less, a moving and sadly inspiring film.